Arab socialism operated as state capitalism with authoritarian repression

Evidence

“Arab socialism” was in practice state capitalism; it involved state planning combined with authoritarian control and the use of repression to quell opposition. Politically, Nasserism sought to unify and regroup Arab territories into one nation and overturn the arbitrary divisions imposed by the Allied powers after the First World War. The principal enemy was imperialism, particularly the imperialism of the United States, which emerged as the dominant power in the Middle East after the war. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 326

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘Arab socialism’ as state capitalism — a precise conceptual clarification that cuts through the label.
• XREF: State-capitalism critique parallels Grosfoguel’s frame of dependent states managing capital for imperial benefit. — connects to: Socialism under Siyad was a means rather than an end — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 550; Nasser’s Arab socialism actively suppressed the Muslim Brotherhood and clerical power — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 311; A socialist regime produced luxury goods for capitalists while undermining them. — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 1467

Broader Connections

• A socialist regime produced luxury goods for capitalists while undermining them. #complicates (0.45) — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 1467