From Compromise to Nonconformism: the Impact of the 1919 Revolutionary Demonstrations on the Radicalization of the Wafdist Movement in Egypt

Abstract

The research subject of this work is the formation of the Egyptian nationalist Wafd Party and the main points of its program. The author examines in detail the impact of the 1919 anti-British revolutionary demonstrations on the radicalization of the Wafdist movement, which had previously held a moderate stance on the issue of gaining independence from Britain. Particular attention is focused on the social composition of the participants in the nationalist movement, the main reasons that prompted people to oppose the country's dependent status, and the personality of Wafdist leader Saʻad Zagul, as well as the particularities of how his figure was perceived in light of the persecution initiated by the colonial authorities. This study is based on the principles of historicism, scientific objectivity, as well as a systematic approach and the comparative-historical method. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that the author successively examines the changes in the key Wafd positions against the backdrop of the development of the liberation movement in Egypt. Additionally, the author raises the question of the coherence of the real aims and ambitions of the Wafdist movement and of the image of the party that was formed during the years of the Egyptian Revolution and to which it was forced to conform in its future political activities.