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Nasserism
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Nasserism is an Arab nationalist political ideology based on the thinking of the former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. It was a major influence on pan-Arab politics in the 1950s and 1960s, and continues to have significant resonance throughout the Arab World to this day. It also metamorphosed into other nationalist movements during the 1970s. However, the scale of the Arab defeat in the Six Day War of 1967 severely damaged the standing of Nasser, and the ideology associated with him.
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Encyclopedia
Nasserism is an Arab nationalist political ideology based on the thinking of the former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. It was a major influence on pan-Arab politics in the 1950s and 1960s, and continues to have significant resonance throughout the Arab World to this day. It also metamorphosed into other nationalist movements during the 1970s. However, the scale of the Arab defeat in the Six Day War of 1967 severely damaged the standing of Nasser, and the ideology associated with him. Nasser himself died in 1970, and certain important tenets of Nasserism were revised or abandoned totally by his successor as Egyptian President, Anwar El-Sadat. During Nasser's lifetime, Nasserist groups were encouraged and often supported financially by Egypt, to the extent that many became seen as willing agents of the Egyptian Government.
Ideology
Nasserism is a revolutionary Arab nationalist and pan-Arab ideology, combined with a vaguely defined socialism; it is often distinguished from Eastern bloc or Western socialist thought by the label "Arab Socialism". Though mindful of the Islamic and Christian heritage of the Arab World, as with Ba'athism, Nasserism is largely a secular ideology. Just as with other manifestations of Arab nationalism, this led to direct conflict with Islamic orientated Arab political movements, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. Nasserists espouse an end to Western interference in Arab affairs, Developing World and Non-Aligned solidarity, modernization, and industrialization. Nasser himself was vehemently opposed to Western imperialism, sharing the commonly held Arab view that Zionism was an extension of European colonialism on Arab soil. In world politics, Nasser's Egypt played a major part in the Non-Aligned Movement.
Today
Nasserism remains a political force throughout the Arab World, but in a markedly different manner than in its heyday. Whereas in the 1950s and 60s Nasserism existed as a revolutionary and dynamic movement with definite political and social goals, today it is a much less pronounced and distinct ideology. Many more Arabs are informed by Nasserism in a general sense than actually espouse its specific ideals and objectives. In terms of political organizations, Nasserism's scope is generally confined to minor opposition parties, writers and intellectuals. In Egypt itself, the Nasserist Party styles itself as the successor to Nasser and his Arab Socialist Union. However, as with all opposition parties in Egypt, its activities are severely limited by the Egyptian Government.
While Nasser governed Egypt through a strictly authoritarian one-party system, with extreme limits on any form of political dissent, present-day Nasserists stress their support for democracy, explaining Nasser's autocratic excesses as necessary to implement his revolutionary policies. However, some Nasserist activists complain of persisting autocratic practices within their own ranks. Today Nasserist movements in Egypt are largely overshadowed by Islamic political organizations, especially the Muslim Brotherhood. This is a part of an overall trend within Egypt and the Arab World of Arab nationalism being overshadowed, and even eclipsed, by political Islam.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera TV that aired on August 4, 2006, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said: "Someone talked to me about his pessimism regarding the future of Arab nationalism. I told him I was optimistic, because the ideas of Nasser are still alive. Nasser was one of the greatest people of Arab history, to say the least; I am a Nasserist, ever since I was a young soldier." View the clip here: and read the transcript here:
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