Introduction

This book spans a period of dramatic change in modem Egypt. The ten years from 1967 to 1977 were punctuated by two massive popular demonstrations. On 9–10 June 1967 several million people poured into the streets to call Nasser back to power after he had resigned in the wake of Egypt's defeat in the June 1967 war. On 19–20 January 1977 several hundred thousand people poured into the streets in an effort to put Sadat out of power after the government had tried to raise the prices of basic consumer goods. In the decade between these two events, Egypt underwent a major transformation. Politically, in June 1967 it was a single party authoritarian state; by January 1977 it was, at least nominally, semi-parliamentarian with a limited number of parties. Economically, in June 1967 it was strongly etatist and essentially closed, dominated by an inefficient public sector; by January 1977 it was partially open, characterized by high-powered private profiteering and international financial difficulties.