The Corrective Revolution (officially launched as the "Corrective Movement")
was a reform program (officially just a change in policy) launched on 15 May 1971 by President
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...
.
It involved purging
Nasserist members of the government and security forces, often considered pro-
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
and
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
, and drumming up popular support by presenting the takeover as a continuation of the
Egyptian Revolution of 1952, while at the same time radically changing track on issues of foreign policy, economy, and ideology. This includes a large shift in Egyptian diplomacy, building ties to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, while breaking from the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and, after signing the
Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, Egypt's subsequent suspension from the
Arab League.
Sadat's Corrective Revolution also included the imprisonment of other political forces in Egypt, including
leftists
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
and officials still loyal to
Nasserism
Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalist and Arab socialist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and Egypt's second President. Spanning the domestic an ...
. Sadat used the Corrective Revolution as a way to 'exorcise Nasser's ghost' from Egyptian politics, and to establish his domestic legitimacy.
Political reforms
Shortly after taking office, Sadat shocked many Egyptians by dismissing and imprisoning two of the most powerful figures in the regime, Vice President
Ali Sabri, who had close ties with Soviet officials, and Sharawy Gomaa, the Interior Minister, who controlled the secret police.
Sadat's rising popularity would accelerate after he cut back the powers of the secret police,
expelled Soviet military from the country and reformed the Egyptian army for a renewed confrontation with Israel.
During this time, Egypt was suffering greatly from economic problems caused by the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
and the Soviet relationship also declined due to their unreliability and refusal of Sadat's requests for more military support.
Economic reforms
In an attempt to revitalize the economy, Sadat enacted the
Infitah
''Infitah'' ( ar, انفتاح ', "openness") or Law 43 of 1974 was Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's policy of "opening the door" to private investment in Egypt in the years following the 1973 October War (Yom Kippur War) with Israel. Infitah ...
, a series of policies that attempted to open the economy to Western private investment. Despite significant changes in areas such as loan, tariff, and tax policies, the increase in capitalistic investment was disappointing. This was at least partially due to public hesitation to the change, not wanting to lose the gains in education, equality, and wages made during the
Nasser administration, or national sovereignty to foreign powers. The public sector therefore retained a large amount of control over the economy, leading Western investors to remain relatively suspicious of Egypt. Regardless, capital investments did come, and the economy experienced a slow but steady recovery in the following years.
Opposition movements
In the early years of his presidency, Sadat encouraged older, more moderate Islamist groups and intellectuals, freeing political activists imprisoned by
President Nasser, and even promoting of ex-
Muslim Brotherhood leaders such as Sheikth al Khazali to state positions. His motives were two-fold: provide a conservative foil to leftists that maintained the ideals of the previous administration, and to hopefully appease more rebellious Islamist movements, such as the rapidly growing
al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya
( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية, "the Islamic Group"; also transliterated El Gama'a El Islamiyya; also called "Islamic Groups" and transliterated Gamaat Islamiya, al Jamaat al Islamiya, is an Egyptian Sunni Islamist movement, and ...
. However, when Sadat began to initiate peace talks with
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in 1977, his tenuous management of
jihadist
Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
groups began to fail rapidly. These talks were a sharp change in Sadat's international policy, who said of Israel in 1970, "Don't ask me to make diplomatic relations with them. Never. Never. Leave it to the coming generations to decide that, not me."
Most notably, despite Sadat's initial minimum demand for
Palestinian self-determination, the treaty signed in 1979 made no definite plan for Palestinian independence. By 1981, Egyptian discontent peaked, including multiple violent riots including various radical
Islamist organizations, to which Sadat responded with uncharacteristic force, detaining 1,600 opponents, followed by the forced expulsion of over 1,000 Soviet citizens he accused of conspiracy. During a parade in October 1981, Sadat was shot by a group of extremists, connected to various Islamist groups.
References
{{Egypt Protests and Revolutions
1971 in Egypt
Politics of Egypt
Republic of Egypt
Revolutions in Egypt
Political and cultural purges
Anwar Sadat