Report of a talk give at the book launch of 1956 And All That on 10th November 2007

Nasser was seen as a new Hitler and it was suggested that British troops in Eqypt in 1956 would be welcomed by cheering crowds. In fact the crowds came to protest but what was the relationship between them and Nasser? Anne Alexander reviewed the history of protest in Egypt from 1945 to 1956, the role played by the Communist Party and by army officers. She used the context of Charles Tilly’s repertoire of contention.

There was tension between Nasser needing, at times, a mass movement but at other times acting to demobilise it. For example trade unions worked closely with the State but CP activists were excluded from this and the Muslim Brotherhood was attacked. The idea around 1956 was these forces would work together ‘for the time being’.

Trade unionists had weapons training and the armed resistance to the occupation at Port Said mobilised international support, but Nasser acted to disarm and demobilise and CP activists were arrested.

The CP had faults of politics and strategy but the conjuncture was not in its favour either. Iraq after 1958 had proved more positive - for a time.