To what extent was king Farouk responsible for the outbreak of the Egyptian coup of 1952?

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How to answer the Question: Identification of the Egyptian coup. Analyse the role of king Farouk vis-avis other factors in leading to the outbreak of the Egyptian coup. Standpoint required

Farouk succeeded his late father Faud, as king, in 1936. However on July 1952, he was suddenly overthrown the Free Army Officers, Nasser, "Neguib and Saddat. This was the Egyptian coup whose outbreak was to a large degree attributed to Farouk's own weaknesses.

King Farouk's dictatorship/ despotism contributed to the outbreak of the revolution. During his regime, there was no separation of powers, the king interfered in Judicial matters thus the erosion of judicial independence.

The king's being a British stooge provided another factor. Farouk ruled with British influence. In fact the power behind the throne was the British whose military presence was felt in the Suez Canal thus in 3952, there was need for real independence.

1. Farouk's weak foreign policy in Palestine war was a source of anger among the army officers.

2. The king's failure to modernise the army played a role in the outbreak of the Egyptian revolution.

3. Farouk's nepotism did not spare him by 1952. Farouk mainly favoured his own relatives or those with connections with the regime without regard to qualification. For example, he rejected Neguib and chose his relative to be minister of war. To this end, the revolutionaries in 1952 wanted to do away with family leadership.

4. Farouk's failure to investigate into the circumstances behind Sheikh Hassan-a1- Banna's death was among the causes of this revolution.

5. His failure to put Egypt and Africa at the forefront of Africa, Arab and Moslem politics invited a lot of criticism from some sections of the Egyptian public.

6. Unfair land distribution as attributed to Farouk's weakness made the peasants throw their support behind the Free Army, Officers to overthrow king Farouk.

7. Industrial underdevelopment due to Farouk's stagnant economic policy resulted into a political crisis.

8. Farouk's extravagancy was seen as an economic draining of the state. Conspicuous spending by Farouk and his family marked the post war period from 1945.

9. The king's failure to improve health conditions made him unpopular. Farouk failed to institute medical reforms yet the Egyptian society was crippled by diseases.

10. The poor education system pursued by Farouk was a blow to his hold onto power. The system was pro-west i.e it favoured British interests

11. Farouk was gender insensitive. During his regime, the recognition of the significance of women in the political, economic and social life of Egypt was far from real.

12. Farouk's unplanned expulsion of the British from the Suez Canal sparked off the revolution. British forces were subjected to guerilla attacks and their food supplies cut off with the expectation that these measures would lead to British evacuation of the canal.

13. The role of Britain deserves mention. It is Britain that entered into neo-colonial relations with Egypt in the 1922 treaty to the effect that her presence was maintained in Egypt. Therefore Farouk who came into power in 1936 cannot wholly be blamed since he took over power in an already neo colony; he just fell a victim of British influence.

14. The weaknesses of Egyptian monarchism were equally significant. Egyptian leadership was based on hereditary succession without regard to the successor's capability to rule; hence the choice of Farouk who was inexperienced could be based on this.

15. The relations broke out due to Nasser's ambition. Nasser was a man who dreamt of ruling Egypt even when he was still young i.e. at the age of 18, he thought of changing the political system of Egypt.

16. The role of World War II was vital in leading to the outbreak of the revolution. World War II had disastrous economic effects on Egypt e.g. it created food shortages, inflation, and decline in international trade etc hence making it hard for Farouk to rule Egypt. It was during world war that tile aggrieved army formed themselves into the Free Army Officers, a group that later championed the coup.

3. "A Reform coup". Discuss this statement with reference to the Egyptian coup of 1952

Identify the Egyptian coup: Briefly highlight the aims or objectives. Give and explain the reforms brought by the coup visa-vis the failures ie Political, economic and social

· Standpoint required

· Points to consider,

1. The Egyptian coup of 1952 involved a sudden removal of king Farouk's regime by the Free Army Officers: Neguib Nasser and Saddat. The coup leaders wished to transform Egypt and make her popular both in Africa and the Middle East and support liberation movements. As a result, the coup leaders carried out numerous changes that to a large degree sufficed to qualify the coup as ‘a reform coup'.

2. Politically the coup led to the end of monarchism in the aftermath of the overthrow and flight of king Farouk into exile.

3. Modernisation of the army was put into consideration by the new government. Farouk had foiled to develop the army; the army had lacked adequate supplies, a weakness illustrated in the Palestinian war.

4. Establishment of political parties was allowed in Egypt. The coup leaders realised that the revolution needed mass support if it were to succeed.

5. Nasser drafted a new constitution and brought to the Egyptians for approval.

6. It also ensured effective representation of the masses in the National Assembly.

7. Egypt became a Non-aligned country from the time Non Aligned Movement [NAM] came into being in 1955.

8. Egypt formed a political union with Syria. During Farouk's era, Egypt had been isolated from Middle East politics; Nasser pulled Egypt out of this situation.

9. Egypt facilitated the demise of colonialism in Africa. The new regime established Radio Cairo and devoted it to the spread of anti-colonial messages to Africa countries.

10. Egypt joined the Casablanca group of Nations.

11. Economically, nationalisation of private enterprises was done under the new regime.

12. The construction of the Aswan high dam was also done.

13. Agricultural development took to greater steps. Wafd land dominance was destroyed and land distributed to the peasants

14. Poverty alleviation measures were put in place.

15. Socially, the Free Army Officers embarked on educational reforms. This was in a bid to ensure an upward trend in development.

16. This increased the enrollment of the school-going children and as time went on, Egypt started sending its elite as expatriates to other countries in Africa.

17. The health sector was not left behind either. There was a lot of improvement as regards to the health status of Egypt.

18. Women emancipation programmes were undertaken.

19. Arab drama and plays revived

20. However, despotism remained intact. Nasser's constitution gave him autocratic powers to pass laws; thus there was no separation of powers.

21. New regime involved old time politicians. Some politicians who had served in Farouk's regime were allowed in the new regime as advisors.

22. The army got involved in disastrous wars e.g in the Suez canal crisis of 1956.

23. Egypt was not purely non-aligned. It sided more with the East than the West contrary to the principles of non-alignment.

24. Economic pitfalls remained e.g massive state expenditure was incurred on social and economic reforms, and military expenditure on Russian and Czech arms.

25. Social reforms were inadequate. Bilhazia remained common due to Nile irrigation in cotton growing areas, due to UPE, the number of students increased in schools by a great margin yet rooms were inadequate to accommodate such a big number of pupils.

26. The pupil: teacher ratio was also big hence ineffectiveness in the education sector.

Qn. Assess the role of the Egyptian revolution of 1952 in the break down of colonialism in Africa

How to answer the Question: Definition of colonialism. Identification of the Egyptian revolution. Analyze its role vis-a-vis other factors in the destruction of colonialism

· Standpoint required

1. Colonialism involves the imposition of foreign rule by a strong power on a weaker state. On July 1952, a group of soldiers calling themselves the Free Army Officers, through a coup, overthrew King Farouk and subsequently carried out a series of reforms in what came to be known as the Egyptian revolution. The revolution played a greater role towards the end of colonialism in Africa much as there are other factors.

2. The revolution led to the establishment of Radio Cairo (Voice of Free Africa). This radio was devoted to the spread of nationalist propaganda throughout Africa.

3. The revolution partly led to the success of the Algerian war of independence 1954-1962). The combined effort of the Egyptians, Tunisians and Moroccans served as a great moral force against the French.

4. Independence achievement in Morocco and Tunisia was also partly attributed to the Egyptian Revolution.

5. The revolution ended British imperialism in Sudan.

6. There was the emergency of guerilla movements in Africa was a result of having heard of Egypt's success against a colonial stooge, in addition to the anti-colonial attitude of the new regime.

7. Egypt provided education to Africans. It is noted that in the later years, Egypt was to facilitate the entry of African students to its institutions of learning both secondary and universities and its Military Academy.

8. Egypt became one of the founder members of OAU in 1963. It is this organization, which put pressure on colonialists to leave Africa.

9. Egypt, after the revolution, offered to act as a center for conferences to unite all people who were against imperialism. After the December 1957 Afro- Asian Peoples' Solidarity Movement, many other conferences were held here.

10. Give of other factors for the destruction of colonialism.

"A socialist Pharaoh" Discuss this statement with reference to Nasser of Egypt from 1954-1970.

Approach: Identification of a socialist. Analyze the indicators of Nasser being socialist vis-a-vis areas where he was not truly a socialist. Standpoint.

1. Nasser was born in 1918 and was one of the Free Army Officers who overthrew Farouk's regime. In 1954, he overthrew Neguib and became president. A socialist is associated with single party government, command economy, equal resource distribution, freedom from colonialism (capitalistic exploitation) and despotism.

2. Manifestations of Nasser's socialist character Nasser became a dictator.

3. Nasser bent more to the East, i.e., he heavily relied on Czechoslovakia, China and Russia (socialist / communist countries) for arms so as to withstand pressure from the west.

4. Nasser was against colonialism. He established " Voice of Free Africa", a radio he devoted for calling for freedom from colonialism. Many countries used this radio in decampaigning the white man's continued control of Africa.

5. Consider Nasser's nationalization programs ie Nasser put private enterprises under state control (command economy).

6. Progressive taxation was imposed on the Egyptians. In this case, taxes were imposed in accordance with the amount of money one earned so as to deal with income inequality. This was to do away with the exploitative nature of regressive taxation.

7. Nasser distributed land to the peasants. Peasants had previously been landless and were being exploited by the Wafd landowners. He, therefore, grabbed their land and gave it to the peasants who were to effectively use it to carry out agriculture. This was to put to an end the famine problem.

8. Jobs were created for the poor and the unemployed. Capitalism had been an obstacle to the realization of industrial progress in Egypt under Farouk. Nasser as a socialist established industries and developed agriculture* which led to an increase in job opportunities and reduction in income inequality was relatively realised.

9. Nasser's social reforms also showed that he was a socialist. Established hospitals, improved on the education system, revived Egyptian culture etc.

10. Nasser being gender sensitive portrayed him as a socialist. He observed equality between men and women by recognizing the role of women in society. They were enrolled in schools as students, teachers and in politics especially when the first woman minister was appointed.

11. However, Nasser was one of the founder members of non-alignment in 1955. The aim of this ideology was to ensure that he and other non-aligned members don't side with either bloc during the Cold war politics. Nasser had indeed co- operated with both the East and West in trade but he ended up bending more to the East

12. Nasser was just an enlightened dictator. I.e. he wasn't too strong a despot; he allowed some freedom e.g. he issued a constitution and sought approval of the public.

13. He initially led a multi-party government. During his regime, several parties were in existence e.g. the Liberation Rally, National Union, Arab Socialist Union.

14. Nasser led a mixed economy. Not every private enterprise was nationalized; some private businesses / investments continued to operate.

15. He headed a corrupt regime. His measures to solve the problem e.g. by establishing courts to try and sentence corrupt officials were a failure. Corruption is in contravention of principles of socialism.

16. Deprived Wafdists of land and re-distributed it to the peasants. Hence there was no equal land distribution.

17. Gender inequality remained. The women's role in the Egyptian society was still not so significant. The government in fact employed fewer women than the private sector.

To what extent was the Egyptian revolution of 1952 successful

Identification of the Egyptian revolution. Highlight its aims or objectives. Analyse its success and failures. Standpoint required.

N.B The revolution aimed at ending the weakness during Farouk's regime eg by reforming the Egyptian society, popularizing Egypt in African and Middle East affairs, ending corruption, reforming the distribution of land among the Egyptians etc.

Assess the impact of the Egyptian revolution of 1952.

Approach: Identify the Egyptian revolution. Give and explain its positive and negative impact on both Egypt Africa and other parts of the world. Standpoint required. This question is open; it's therefore different from:

Assess the impact of the Egyptian revolution of 1952 on Africa.

Qn 2 requires positive and negative impact on Africa excluding Egypt and other parts of the world while Qn 3 requires positive and negative effects on Egypt alone. Standpoint is required for both questions.

N.B Review question 3 can best be handled concurrently i.e., by bringing a positive impact and if it suffers a setback, bring it immediately in another paragraph.

· Qn. Discuss the causes and consequences of the Egyptian revolution of July 1952 on Egypt and Africa in general

· Be aware that the question is in two parts. First part requires causes of the Egyptian revolution of 1952. Second part requires the effects of this revolution on Egypt and Africa.