Cold War dilemmas and regional interests: the acknowledgment of Egypt’s King, Farouk I, as ‘King of Egypt and Sudan’ by Greece (October 1951–August 1952)

The question of Farouk's title is considered an important part of Anglo-Egyptian rivalry. However, the existing literature neglects the issue's possible impact on third countries. The purpose of this article is to highlight if, how, and why a smaller Eastern-Mediterranean state – Greece in particular – was coerced into getting involved in the Anglo-Egyptian dispute, by being forced to decide whether to acknowledge Egypt's King as 'King of Egypt and Sudan'. Based on extensive archival research as well as the press of the time, from October 1951, when the issue emerged, to August 1952, when it ended with an Anglo-Egyptian compromise, this article sheds light on the formulation of Greece's policy, explains its final decision and, finally, traces and analyses the factors that influenced it. The study concludes by assessing Greek efforts to balance between Great Britain and Egypt, in other words, between its national security priorities within NATO and the need to protect its regional interests.