How far do you agree with this statement?
"For Nasser, Pan-Arabism was primarily a vehicle which enabled him to protect his power in
the Arab world"
Whilst pan-Arabism enabled Nasser to protect his power in the Arab world; his actual aim
was to secure Egypt's sovereignty and gain independence from western imperialism.
However, in order to achieve such aims, Nasser would have to exploit the ideology to grow
his power to maintain and protect Egypt's national interests.
Firstly, disagreeing with the statement, Nasser used Pan-Arabism to enact certain domestic
and foreign policies that would allow Egypt to fulfil its regional power role that both he and
Egypt's population believed was their inherent right. On the domestic s Nasser concentrated
on the country's social, political, and economic policies to make Egypt strong - On the
foreign side, Nasser also believed he could use the ideology to prevent isolation in the middle
east. As demonstrated through the Baghdad pact 1955, which offered Iraq, an Arab state to
join a western alliance. Nasser saw the pact as an instrument of western intervention, and he
feared that Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria might also be seduced into joining. This would put
Egypt at risk by potentially leaving the country very isolated. So, he launched a massive pan-
Arabist propaganda campaign to prevent Iraq from joining. By broadcasting a radio campaign
in Cairo, he was able to avert the threat against Egypt successfully. Using pan-Arabism to
encourage opposition towards western domination, he prevented Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria
from joining. Thus, demonstrating how, pan Arabism was not primarily a vehicle to protect
his power in the Arab world, but instead, a means to protect his country.
However, agreeing with the statement, a country united behind a powerful leader is very
strong, and Nasser was no exception to this understanding. To protect his country, he would
have to use pan-Arabism to grow his power and maintain it. And despite it not being his main
aim, Nasser recognised the wide appeal of Arab nationalism and capitalised on the ideology
to gain strength on the world stage. To Nasser, being Arab was more than just a cultural
identity; he viewed it as an ability to influence other countries in the Middle East. This would
place him as the most dominant leader in the middle east. This is especially true in 1956,
where the Arab world experienced euphoria when Britain and France were forced to
withdraw from Egypt after attempting to regain control of the Suez Canal. Nasser's charisma,
