He aligned Egypt with the Soviet Union, and so ended up on the losing side in the Cold War. Today, when many Arabs feel humiliated by Israel and the American superpower, there is a certain nostalgia for Nasserism.īut to his critics, Nasser led the Arabs down a cul-de-sac. His message, of social justice at home and anti-colonialism abroad, restored Arab dignity.

He embodied pan-Arabism - the dream of a united Arab nation stretching from the Atlantic to the Gulf. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s and until his death in 1970, he dominated Arab politics and the popular imagination of the Arab masses. Half a century on, Nasser's legacy is the subject of hot debate. So Gamal Abdul Nasser, and the other young army officers, won huge popular acclaim when they ended the much-resented domination of the British, ejected the effete and pleasure-loving King Farouq and turned the country into a republic.

The country had been conquered by a succession of foreigners - Persians, Greeks, Romans, Circassians, Arabs, Turks and finally the British. It was the first time Egypt had been ruled by Egyptians for two and a half millennia.

Legacy of nasser egypt