ABSTRACT
This chapter is centered on coup-proofing strategies under King Faruq, the Egyptian monarch who was overthrown by the Free Officers in 1952. I study these efforts and show that the successor regime of Gamal Abdul Nasser followed similar coup-proofing methods, only with greater efficiency. Memoirs published in the last 20 years provide important new data pertaining to civil–military relations throughout Faruq’s tenure. These include works written by the king’s last interior minister, his personal secretary and advisor, his influential press secretary, and by Free Officers. I draw upon these and several other recollections to examine Faruq’s levers of control and why they ultimately failed, and why Nasser’s proved so successful.
