SPECIFIC FEATURES OF FOREIGN POLICY IN ARAB-MUSLIM STATES: EGYPT AS A CASE STUDY

Authors

  • Nigina Kushaeva

    Political Sciences Department, University of World Economy of Diplomacy

    Author

Keywords:
Egypt, foreign policy, Arab-Muslim states, Middle East, Arab identity, Islamic factor, regime security, Suez Canal, Nile, multi-vector diplomacy.
Abstract

This article examines the specific features of foreign policy in Arab-Muslim states through the case of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The central argument is that Egyptian foreign policy cannot be explained through a single theoretical lens, whether realism, constructivism, religious identity, or regime-security approaches. Rather, it represents a complex interaction between national security, regime stability, historical self-perception, Arab and Islamic identity, geopolitical position, economic vulnerability, and relations with regional and global powers. Egypt is selected as a case study because it occupies a unique position at the intersection of several geopolitical and civilizational spaces: the Arab world, Africa, the Islamic world, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the wider international system. Its control over the Suez Canal, dependence on the Nile, demographic weight, military-political tradition, and historical claim to regional leadership make Egypt one of the most analytically significant cases for studying Arab-Muslim foreign policy. The article argues that Egypt’s external behavior demonstrates a hybrid model of foreign policy: it combines realist pragmatism, regime-security calculations, Arab-Islamic legitimacy, historical identity, and multi-vector diplomacy. At the same time, Egypt should not be treated as a universal model for all Arab-Muslim states, since its historical experience and geopolitical resources give it a distinct foreign policy profile.

References

[1] Hinnebusch R. The International Politics of the Middle East. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003. DOI: 10.7765/9781526137760; Hinnebusch R., Ehteshami A. eds. The Foreign Policies of Middle East States. 2nd ed. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2014.

[2] Yovkochev Sh. A., Kadyrova G. Sh. Foundations and Principles of Egypt’s Modern Foreign Policy (2013–2020) // The Light of Islam. 2024. № 4. DOI: 10.47980/IIAU/2024/4/6. URL: https://aps.tsuos.uz/storage/users/154/articles/Cn67FHL4UdCqjvJyl4739Q4np8VbxgQpeCMkZF7L.pdf (date of access: 24.06.2026).

[3] Демченко А. В. Внутренние факторы формирования внешней политики стран Арабского Востока // Вестник МГИМО-Университета. 2010. № 1(10). С. 153–165. DOI: 10.24833/2071-8160-2010-1-10-153-165.

[4] Selim G. M. Egyptian Foreign Policy after the 2011 Revolution: The Dynamics of Continuity and Change // British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 2022. Vol. 49. № 1. P. 1–22. DOI: 10.1080/13530194.2020.1747983.

[5] Hinnebusch R. The International Politics of the Middle East. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003. DOI: 10.7765/9781526137760; Hinnebusch R., Ehteshami A. eds. The Foreign Policies of Middle East States. 2nd ed. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2014.

[6] Hinnebusch R., Shama N. The Foreign Policy of Egypt // Hinnebusch R., Ehteshami A. eds. The Foreign Policies of Middle East States. 2nd ed. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2014. P. 75–104.

[7] Shama N. Egyptian Foreign Policy from Mubarak to Morsi: Against the National Interest. London; New York: Routledge, 2013. DOI: 10.4324/9781315886381.

[8] Selim G. M. Egyptian Foreign Policy after the 2011 Revolution: The Dynamics of Continuity and Change // British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 2022. Vol. 49. № 1. P. 1–22. DOI: 10.1080/13530194.2020.1747983.

[9] Демченко А. В. Внутренние факторы формирования внешней политики стран Арабского Востока // Вестник МГИМО-Университета. 2010. № 1(10). С. 153–165. DOI: 10.24833/2071-8160-2010-1-10-153-165.

[10] Пойда А. А. Исторические детерминанты внешней политики Арабской Республики Египет // Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Всеобщая история. 2018. Т. 10. № 2. С. 192–200. DOI: 10.22363/2312-8127-2018-10-2-192-200.

[11] Ибрагимов И. Э. Роль лидеров в формировании внешнеполитической идентичности в Египте // Вестник МГИМО-Университета. 2021. Т. 14. № 4. С. 70–90. DOI: 10.24833/2071-8160-2021-4-79-70-90.

[12] Сурков Н. Ю. «Доктрина Сиси»: Египет и великие державы после «арабской весны»: сравнительный анализ отношений Каира с Вашингтоном, Пекином и Москвой // Вестник Удмуртского университета. Социология. Политология. Международные отношения. 2023. Т. 7. № 1. С. 75–86.

[13] Yovkochev Sh. A., Kadyrova G. Sh. Foundations and Principles of Egypt’s Modern Foreign Policy (2013–2020) // The Light of Islam. 2024. № 4. DOI: 10.47980/IIAU/2024/4/6. URL: https://aps.tsuos.uz/storage/users/154/articles/Cn67FHL4UdCqjvJyl4739Q4np8VbxgQpeCMkZF7L.pdf (date of access: 24.06.2026).

[14] Пойда А. А. Исторические детерминанты внешней политики Арабской Республики Египет // Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Всеобщая история. 2018. Т. 10. № 2. С. 192–200. DOI: 10.22363/2312-8127-2018-10-2-192-200.

[15] UNCTAD. Red Sea, Black Sea and Panama Canal: UNCTAD Raises Alarm on Global Trade Disruptions. January 26, 2024. URL: https://unctad.org/news/red-sea-black-sea-and-panama-canal-unctad-raises-alarm-global-trade-disruptions (date of access: 24.06.2026).

[16] Yovkochev Sh. A., Kadyrova G. Sh. Foundations and Principles of Egypt’s Modern Foreign Policy (2013–2020) // The Light of Islam. 2024. № 4. DOI: 10.47980/IIAU/2024/4/6.

[17] Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt 2014, as amended in 2019. Article 2. URL: https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Egypt_2019 (date of access: 24.06.2026).

[18] Демченко А. В. Внутренние факторы формирования внешней политики стран Арабского Востока // Вестник МГИМО-Университета. 2010. № 1(10). С. 153–165. DOI: 10.24833/2071-8160-2010-1-10-153-165.

[19] Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State. The Suez Crisis, 1956. URL: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/suez (date of access: 24.06.2026).

[20] Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State. Camp David Accords and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process. URL: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/camp-david (date of access: 24.06.2026).

[21] Selim G. M. Egyptian Foreign Policy after the 2011 Revolution: The Dynamics of Continuity and Change // British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 2022. Vol. 49. № 1. P. 1–22. DOI: 10.1080/13530194.2020.1747983.

[22] Сурков Н. Ю. «Доктрина Сиси»: Египет и великие державы после «арабской весны»: сравнительный анализ отношений Каира с Вашингтоном, Пекином и Москвой // Вестник Удмуртского университета. Социология. Политология. Международные отношения. 2023. Т. 7. № 1. С. 75–86.

[23] State Information Service of Egypt. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Issues White Paper on “Strategic Balance in Egyptian Foreign Policy”. December 17, 2025. URL: https://sis.gov.eg/en/media-center/news/ministry-of-foreign-affairs-issues-white-paper-on-strategic-balance-in-egyptian-foreign-policy/ (date of access: 24.06.2026).

[24] Congressional Research Service. Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations. Report RL33003. Updated September 12, 2024. URL: https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/2024-09-12_RL33003_56a7a24b48ff3f395a342727f5fdb79aa2ec621f.html (date of access: 24.06.2026).

[25] Congressional Research Service. Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations. Report RL33003. Updated September 12, 2024. URL: https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/2024-09-12_RL33003_56a7a24b48ff3f395a342727f5fdb79aa2ec621f.html (date of access: 24.06.2026).

[26] Васильев А. М., Виницкий Д. И. Россия и Египет: перспективы есть, но для их реализации требуется время // Азия и Африка сегодня. 2015. № 4. С. 2–6; Сурков Н. Ю. «Доктрина Сиси»: Египет и великие державы после «арабской весны» // Вестник Удмуртского университета. 2023. Т. 7. № 1. С. 75–86.

[27] Information and Decision Support Center. Egypt’s Relations with BRICS: One Year after Joining the Group — Future Perspectives. 2025. URL: https://idsc.gov.eg/upload/DocumentLibraryIssues/AttachmentA/10166/Egypt%27s%20Relations%20with%20BRICS%20%20One%20year%20after%20joining%20the%20group%20-%20future%20perspectives%20%20.pdf (date of access: 24.06.2026).

[28] European Commission. Joint Declaration on the Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the European Union. March 17, 2024. URL: https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/joint-declaration-strategic-and-comprehensive-partnership-between-arab-republic-egypt-and-european-2024-03-17_en (date of access: 24.06.2026).

[29] IMF. Red Sea Attacks Disrupt Global Trade. March 7, 2024. URL: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2024/03/07/red-sea-attacks-disrupt-global-trade (date of access: 24.06.2026).

Downloads
Published
2026-05-31
Issue
Vol. 2 No. 5 (2026)
Section
Articles
License
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF FOREIGN POLICY IN ARAB-MUSLIM STATES: EGYPT AS A CASE STUDY. (2026). Eureka Journal of Business, Economics & Innovation Studies, 2(5), 209-236. https://eurekaoa.com/index.php/6/article/view/1333

Most read articles by the same author(s)