Egypt, Revolution of 1952

Research output

Complete citation

Poljarevic, Emin. “Egypt, Revolution of 1952.” In The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest, edited by Immanuel Ness, 1076–1079. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp0501.

Status

Published (2009)

Publication type

Reference work entry

Overview

This encyclopedia entry reconstructs the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 and the historical pressures that made the Free Officers’ seizure of power possible. It situates the July 1952 overthrow of the monarchy within a longer trajectory beginning with the ʿUrabi revolt, continuing through British domination, constitutional monarchy, party competition, economic inequality, and the crisis generated by the 1948 Palestine war. The entry follows the interaction of nationalist mobilisation, military reorganisation, royal weakness, and declining confidence in the Wafd-led political order. It also examines the early consolidation of the Revolutionary Command Council and the revolution’s anti-imperial, social-reform, and state-building ambitions. Its contribution is to present 1952 not as an isolated military coup but as the outcome of accumulated political conflicts that reshaped Egypt and influenced revolutionary movements across the Arab world.

Research question or central concern

Which historical, political, military, and social conditions enabled the Free Officers to overthrow Egypt’s monarchy in July 1952?

Main argument, approach, and contribution

The entry uses concise historical reconstruction to link the revolution to colonial domination, institutional crisis, military discontent, social inequality, and nationalist mobilisation. It argues that the coup’s success depended on the exhaustion of the monarchical and party system. The contribution is to connect the immediate seizure of power to longer revolutionary trajectories.

Keywords

Egypt; 1952 Revolution; Free Officers; Gamal Abdel Nasser; anti-imperialism; military politics; social movements