Rami Ginat. Egypt and the Struggle for Power in Sudan

Early in his study Egypt and the Struggle for Power in Sudan: From World War II to Nasserism, Rami Ginat poses a question: Why were Egyptians so determined to hold on to control of neighboring Sudan? His remarkable book provides a nuanced and convincing answer to this question and others, bearing on two contradictory currents: “Egypt’s struggle to advance its doctrine of the unity of the Nile valley, and the demise of that very doctrine and the subsequent shattering of a consensual nationalist dream” (1). Ginat authoritatively shows how this doctrine brought together Egyptians of different political orientations, who regarded Sudan as an essential part of their homeland, valuable both for its natural resources and its symbolism. Even as Egyptians fought to expel British imperialism from the region, they hoped to do so by uniting its inhabitants under the Egyptian crown of King Faruq, thus ensuring dominance over Sudan. It’s an illuminating study that explores Sudan’s rather unique place in the history of imperialism, as a colonized territory both “ruled (1899–1956) by two foreign imperialist powers, one regional and the other global—Egypt and Britain,” and internally divided between north and south (2).

Ancient history · Demise · Doctrine · Dominance (genetics) · Geography · Homeland · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · African Studies and Geopolitics · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender