ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the development of Egypt's relations with the Western Alliance, with particular emphasis on the second half of the 1970s. It explores the role of the West, particularly that of the USA, as the architect of peace, the supplier of arms and the financier of infitah. Although the analysis focuses on the ruling elite's perspective, attention will also be given to alternative and opposite Egyptian viewpoints. The discussion of the open-door policy brings the socioeconomic setting of the political decisions that have dealt before. During the 1970s, there have been two discernible turning-points in Egypt's US connection. The first was the October War in 1973. The second was the peace initiative in 1977. In this chapter, primary emphasis will be placed on Egyptian-US, followed by Egyptian-European, relations. Finally, economic factors will be examined only within the broader sociopolitical context.
