Nasser’s Influence on Egypt-West Relations

OVERVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The role of Gamal Nasser in the politics of Egypt and the Middle East has attracted significant attention from scholars over time. Gamal Nasser is one of the most significant political figures in Egypt and the Middle East and his political ideologies and policies, otherwise known as Nasserism, continue to influence the politics of the Middle East which, in turn, affect the way the region relates with the Western countries. The literature review in this research will be focused on how Nasser’s political ideologies and policies influence the relations of Egypt and the Middle East with the Western countries today. As pointed out by St. John (2005), the politics of the Middle East as well as the region’s international relations has been influenced significantly by the political ideologies and foreign policies of Gamal Nasser. In this literature review, the political and foreign policies will be highlighted and analysed in relation to how they influence Egypt and Middle East’s international relations.

There are a number of theoretical approaches that have been used by scholars to investigate the topic. Most of these approaches are biased towards international relations are opposed to the domestic politics. Some of the theoretical approaches used include liberalism, idealism, and realism.

There is an agreement among scholars over a number of issues concerning the politics of Gamal Nasser and how his political ideologies and foreign policies influenced the international relations of Egypt and the Middle East. One of them is that Nasser’s political ideologies and foreign policies were informed by nationalism. Nasser was a nationalist who wished for Egypt and the Middle East to be independent of both the Western and Eastern powers. For example, Nasser rejected both the Western imperialism and Eastern communism. Another issue agreed up by majority of scholars is that Nasser had bad relations with other nations, particularly the Western powers such as the US and UK. This is mainly due to quest for political independence that Nasser fought for.

YOUR PROPOSED APPROACH

In investigating the topic in this research, three main theoretical approaches will be used. These are realism, constructivism, and idealism. Realism holds that countries normally work to increase their own power as compared to other countries. Realism will be used to investigate the topic in relation to how the desire by Nasser to make Egypt and the Middle East politically powerful as compared to other nations may have affected the international relations of the Middle East over time.

Constructivism, on the other hand, holds that a nation’s belief system determines its foreign policy efforts and hence its international relations. Constructivism is particularly significant in this investigating the research topic because it would not only help to investigate the historical, social, and cultural belief system of the Middle East, it will also help to determine how these systems have informed Nasser’s political ideologies and polices, which, in turn, influence the international relations of the Middle East today.

Lastly, idealism is a theory which focuses on the moral goals of nation and how this affects how it relates with other nations. In this study, an analysis of how Nasser’s policies were influenced by the political idealism of the Middle East and how this influences the international relations of Egypt and the Middle East today.

In order to answer the research question in this study, a number of steps will be taken. The first one is a review of the existing literature. A literature review will be carried out in order to determine what previous studies say about the research question. This will provide insight into the research and the topic as a whole. The second step will involve collecting data. Data in this case will be collected from secondary sources. The third step will be data analysis. Data will be analysed by comparing it and carrying out a correlation analysis. This will help to determine the similarities and differences between sets of data as well as the relationship between different variables. Lastly, conclusions will be drawn. Conclusions will be drawn in relation to the research question. The data will evaluated in terms of whether it answers the research question and what it says about the topic.

INDICATIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY

Halliday, F 2005. The Middle East in international relations: power, politics and ideology, vol.4. Cambridge University Press.

Owen, R., 2013. State, power and politics in the making of the modern Middle East. Routledge.

Fawcett, L., 2016. International relations of the Middle East. Oxford University Press.

Hinnebusch, R., 2010. The international politics of the Middle East. Manchester University Press.

Gerges, F.A., 1994. The superpowers and the Middle East: regional and international politics, 1955-67. Westview Press.

Farrell, M., Hettne, B. and Van Langenhove, L., 2005. Global politics of regionalism: theory and practice. Pluto Pr.