The Formation and Actions of the Free Officers movement

In the wake of the second World War a new military coup was being swiftly formed in Egypt by a group of junior officers. It was called the Free Officers movement. Soon after its formation Gamal ‘Abd al-Nasser as a result of a populist movement became their leader. According to the group they launched this movement “to put an end to that corruption, ineptitude and treason” (The modern middle east p.238) that was very apparent in the wake of the war and colonialism. As the military offices began to take control they had the tough task of having to weaken the grasp of the social elite on the rest of the population. The effects of the elite were largely seen by their actions in parliament. This was easily seen as the large landowners who are the dominant group in parliament dictate the politics of the time. Before land reform parliament repressed the everyday wage labors by preventing them from forming agricultural labor unions. Along with not being able to form unions, there is also no minimum wage for agricultural laborers so much of the labors are exploited by the elite for their hard work. As the working class begins to fall deeper into poverty much of the land began being held more and more by the social elite slowly forcing the Egyptian peasants to become landless. A small ruling class of social elite who marginalized the rest of the population wasn’t unique to just Egypt. This was also seen in the other emerging Middle Eastern states like Syria and Iraq. One of Nasser’s most significant political actions with the Free Officers emerged as his progressive movement for land reform. It was in September of 1952, The Egyptian government prevented land from being hoarded by the elite by placing limits on how much land individuals cou...

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... sparked a small civil war. In 1958, the Marionite Christian president asks the U.S President Eisenhower for assistance and soon after American Marines land in Lebanon to help control the situation. The 1950’s was marked as a time of popular politics, the drive for an Arab identity, and the fight for regional influence. There was push for economic planning measures. Namely, state managed socioeconomic plans for things like infrastructure production, education systems, land reforms, and increased industry. These plans would largely influence the rural communities the most. These were also the people that were most affected by the effects of colonialism. The essence of 1958 in the region beneath the chaos was a new push for political parties that are articulating Arab nationalist politics, fighting for regional influence and to become a truly independent nation state.