Egypt, Syria and the War on Gaza: A Study on the Egyptian and Syrian Foreign Policy Responses to the 2008/ 2009 Gaza War: مصر وسوريا والحرب على غزة: دراسة في ردود فعل السياسة الخارجية المصرية والسورية لحرب غزة 2009/2008

 Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations in Beirut has published a new book: Egypt, Syria and the War on Gaza: A Study on the Egyptian and Syrian Foreign Policy Responses to the 2008/2009 Gaza War, written by Muslim Imran Abu Umar. The original text of this book was a dissertation submitted in June 2013 in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Political Science at the International Islamic University Malaysia. 

This 103-page book focuses on the differences and similarities in the foreign policy responses of Egypt and Syria towards the 2008/2009 Gaza War. Five domestic and external factors are used to compare the foreign policy responses of Egypt and Syria, these are; Arab Nationalism, Islam, security concerns, economic concerns, and type of alliance. The author analyzes the official statements of the officials of Egypt, Syria, Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to understand, classify, and compare the policies adopted.

A qualitative approach in which a content analysis is carried out is used to reach conclusions. Abu Umar concludes that while Islam and Arab Nationalism were very influential factors for the Egyptian and Syrian public, they had a minimal impact on foreign policy makers in the two states. Both security concerns and the type of alliance were very influential in the foreign policy making of the two states. Economic concerns were less important in both Egyptian and Syrian responses to the 2008/2009 Gaza War.