The balance among consent, acquiescence, and coercion in the making of Nasser’s project was uncertain and shifted over time.
Addressing them in unembellished semi-colloquial language, the Egyptian leader urged them, “ Irfa‘ ra’sak ya khuya” (“lift up your head my brother”). He believed that he spoke for - and viscerally understood - the interests of its people. Nasser was the first indigenous ruler of Egypt since Cleopatra. Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of Egypt (1954–70) and champion of Arab nationalism, Arab Socialism, and anti-imperialism in the era of global decolonization, died fifty years ago today.
