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POD: United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower declined to run for re-election after his 1955 heart attack. The election was between Vice President Richard Nixon and MA Governor Christian Herter vs Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson and Senator John F. Kennedy. This was the first election in which the states of Alaska and Hawai'i participated and the last to use the electoral college. Nixon easily defeated Senator Joe McCarthy in the Republican primaries while the Democratic primaries went all the way to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Former President Harry Truman backed New York Governor Averell Harriman, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley preferred Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, and Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee was widely disliked by party bosses but had done reasonably well in the primaries. When Stevenson's delegate lead began to peel away, he surprised everyone by announcing he would accept a vote by the convention's delegates to choose his running mate if nominated by the Democratic Party. This set off a desperate scramble among several potential vice-presidents. Stevenson preferred Senator John F. Kennedy to be his running mate, but kept his preferences private. Kennedy surprised the experts by surging into the lead on the second ballot after a crucial endorsement from Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson; at this point, the Master of the Senate was able to talk the party bosses into accepting a Johnson/Kennedy ticket as the best compromise between all factions of the party.
On the day of the Suez Crisis, the United States and United Kingdom planned a coup to overthrow the President of Syria. In this timeline, this goes ahead as planned but it's a bungled mess. While the world is confused over who governs Syria, Israel invades Jordan and Lebanon as Ben-Gurion originally wanted to do anyways. Eisenhower was furious, as this overshadowed the Soviet invasion of Hungary which had already ruined his plans for a superpower summit in his last year in office.
From the perspective of Nasser, the dominant power in the Middle East at the time was Britain, and its main ally Hashemite Iraq was divided on how to proceed. Pro-British Nuri al-Said and Prince Abdullah send the army to "protect" Syria but King Faisal II wants to fully enter the war against the Israel-UK-France Alliance to help his cousin King Hussein of Jordan, who had joined Nasser in a defensive alliance after Ben-Gurion's invasion. Brief civil unrest in Syria and Iraq lead to Nasser being declared provisional president of both countries. Eisenhower was furious but Britain and France hope to outlast the lame-duck president given candidates Nixon and Johnson's open support for Israel. Eisenhower publicly scolded both presidential candidates and warned of the "congressional-industrial-military complex." After Eisenhower threatens a run on the pound and franc, Britain and France back down. At war's end, the United Arab Republic (UAR) is declared in Damascus and this new federal state is allied to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, overjoyed at the downfall of the Hashemites. "If we go down in the region, we might as well go down backing Arab nationalism," Eisenhower concluded. A hastily-arranged superpower summit provides mutual recognition by Israel and the Arab states in exchange for the Palestinian right of return and a guarantee by Nasser and King Saud to sell oil prices at a low rate in US dollars.
Within the United Arab Republic, former King Hussein of Jordan becomes a loyal underling of Nasser while his cousin Faisal II goes into exile, eventually becoming a Congressman from Miami. British Prime Minister Anthony Eden is soon replaced by Harold MacMillian who in turn loses to Hugh Gaitskell in 1959. In Israel, Prime Minister Ben-Gurion falls from power in favor of the more dovish PM Moshe Sharrett. The French Fourth Republic did not long survive the crisis, as Charles de Gaulle launched a coup to declare the Fifth French Republic after the humiliation of the formation of the United Arab Republic to French national pride.1956: UAR formed from Egypt, Syria-Jordan, Iraq. Nasser recognizes Lebanon is a "special case" despite large demonstrations for Arab unity there. Eisenhower's plans for a summit with the USSR at the end of his presidency are ruined by the Hungarian Revolution. Furious at his Vice President's refusal to condemn the Tripartite Aggression, Eisenhower makes his disagreement plain.
1957: Saudi Arabia, N Yemen & Sudan join UAR to form United Arab States, Israel completes withdrawal. Eisenhower warns of the power of the military-industrial-congressional complex in his Farewell Address. President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The Treaty of Rome and Euratom Treaty increase European integration (OTL).
1958: Saudi Arabia, Libya, N Yemen & N Sudan join UAR. President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1958, democratizing the United States.

The power struggle between King Saud and Prime Minister Faisal ends with Saud attempting to arrest Faisal earlier than OTL. But the army turns on both and Arabia joins the United Arab Republic. This inspires copycat coups in Libya, the Kingdom of Yemen, and Sudan. Widespread protests in South Sudan against joining the UAR last for months.

French coup - France falls into fascism. De Gaulle is killed, leaving Senate President Gaston Monnerville in charge. Most of the army refuses to accept a Black President of France, but the Navy and Colonies support Monnerville while the Air Force is split. Monnerville leads the Free French as government-in-exile which initially controls much of of the French Empire as well as its vote in the UN, but by 1970 is mainly in Central Africa.
1959: French crisis: The French junta gives Algerian land to Morocco in a bid to make Algeria more amenable to French interests. This causes backlash and the Moroccan Civil War begins to overlap with the Algerian War. The French crisis prompts the ratification of the European Defence Community, European Political Community, as the French junta aligns with Fascist Spain and Portugal. Unlike OTL Lyndon Johnson does not go to Madrid as Eisenhower did, having reversed Eisenhower's pro-Franco policies. Humberto Delgado is elected President of Portugal and begins democratizing the country.
Tunisia and Lebanon join UAS. Oil discovered in Libya (OTL). Nasser uses this increased political capital to grant independence to Sudan (OTL South Sudan) and Kurdistan, to preserve his credibility with African nationalists and irritate his rivals in Turkey and Iran. This reduces Nasser's popularity in the Mashreq and Khartoum.

1960: 1968 comes early in France, with the fascist regime falling over the Albert Camus protests. The regime splits on the question of Algerian partition and how far to repress domestic dissent. Napoleon VI becomes the puppet ruler of the Third French Empire, which only controls Corsica by 1970. The Carnation Revolution spread from France to Portugal, but Franco remains in power in Spain. Madagascar gains independence. One-country, two systems deal with British PM Gaitskell for British Gulf. Fermat Abbas declares an Arab Maghreb Union between Algeria & Morocco. OPEC founded (OTL). United States of Europe formed.
1961: Maghreb Union fully pacified. Internal dissent within the UAR over Nasser's increasing autocratic power centers on Nasser's Nasser foils Abdel Hakim Amer’s coup attempt which was encouraged by his aide Eli Cohen.
1962: Ben Bella replaces Abbas with support from the Oudja Group. The Carnation Revolution continues in France and Portugal.

1963: Nasser re-elected to another term in rigged elections. UAR presidential terms are seven years long. Patrice Lumumba becomes President of the United States of Congo.

1964: Fear of "Pink France" end when it joins the European Communities. But Belgium vetoes Portuguese entry. The country is enraged at how Portugal ceded much of Angola to new United States of Congo.

1965: Facing a military coup, Ben Bella announces the Arab Maghreb Union joins the United Arab Republic under the one country-two systems model

1966: Ghanan President Kwame Nkrumah becomes the first yearly President of the Non-Aligned Movement
1967: Namibian independence. End of apartheid in South Africa. Sukarno becomes President of the Non-Aligned Movement.

1968: Nasser becomes President of the Non-Aligned Movement. Nasser resigns from the Egyptian presidency after multiple heart attacks in favor of Butefliqa, but reminds head of the National Union. Arab Magreb Union President Abdelaziz Butefliqa, who was also Vice President of the UAR, becomes President of the UAR.
1968-70 The ruling one-party state is uneasy with two captains at the helm. Butefliqa and Nasser coexist uneasily.

1969: Free France splits when granting independence to the Mali Federation. The United Nations declares France's seat on the Security Council vacant. Ultimately Free France is readmitted to the UN under the name the United States of Latin Africa.

1970: Nasser returns and quickly consolidates power only to die suddenly in office. Vice President Hussein Hashimi becomes President, uniting the Arab world under his family rule but in a republican manner.
Credit to Asvaran for the Mali Federation internal borders, inspired by the Indian state reorganization.

Description

POD: United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower declined to run for re-election after his 1955 heart attack. The election was between Vice President Richard Nixon and MA Governor Christian Herter vs Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson and Senator John F. Kennedy. This was the first election in which the states of Alaska and Hawai'i participated and the last to use the electoral college. Nixon easily defeated Senator Joe McCarthy in the Republican primaries while the Democratic primaries went all the way to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Former President Harry Truman backed New York Governor Averell Harriman, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley preferred Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, and Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee was widely disliked by party bosses but had done reasonably well in the primaries. When Stevenson's delegate lead began to peel away, he surprised everyone by announcing he would accept a vote by the convention's delegates to choose his running mate if nominated by the Democratic Party. This set off a desperate scramble among several potential vice-presidents. Stevenson preferred Senator John F. Kennedy to be his running mate, but kept his preferences private. Kennedy surprised the experts by surging into the lead on the second ballot after a crucial endorsement from Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson; at this point, the Master of the Senate was able to talk the party bosses into accepting a Johnson/Kennedy ticket as the best compromise between all factions of the party.
On the day of the Suez Crisis, the United States and United Kingdom planned a coup to overthrow the President of Syria. In this timeline, this goes ahead as planned but it's a bungled mess. While the world is confused over who governs Syria, Israel invades Jordan and Lebanon as Ben-Gurion originally wanted to do anyways. Eisenhower was furious, as this overshadowed the Soviet invasion of Hungary which had already ruined his plans for a superpower summit in his last year in office.
From the perspective of Nasser, the dominant power in the Middle East at the time was Britain, and its main ally Hashemite Iraq was divided on how to proceed. Pro-British Nuri al-Said and Prince Abdullah send the army to "protect" Syria but King Faisal II wants to fully enter the war against the Israel-UK-France Alliance to help his cousin King Hussein of Jordan, who had joined Nasser in a defensive alliance after Ben-Gurion's invasion. Brief civil unrest in Syria and Iraq lead to Nasser being declared provisional president of both countries. Eisenhower was furious but Britain and France hope to outlast the lame-duck president given candidates Nixon and Johnson's open support for Israel. Eisenhower publicly scolded both presidential candidates and warned of the "congressional-industrial-military complex." After Eisenhower threatens a run on the pound and franc, Britain and France back down. At war's end, the United Arab Republic (UAR) is declared in Damascus and this new federal state is allied to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, overjoyed at the downfall of the Hashemites. "If we go down in the region, we might as well go down backing Arab nationalism," Eisenhower concluded. A hastily-arranged superpower summit provides mutual recognition by Israel and the Arab states in exchange for the Palestinian right of return and a guarantee by Nasser and King Saud to sell oil prices at a low rate in US dollars.
Within the United Arab Republic, former King Hussein of Jordan becomes a loyal underling of Nasser while his cousin Faisal II goes into exile, eventually becoming a Congressman from Miami. British Prime Minister Anthony Eden is soon replaced by Harold MacMillian who in turn loses to Hugh Gaitskell in 1959. In Israel, Prime Minister Ben-Gurion falls from power in favor of the more dovish PM Moshe Sharrett. The French Fourth Republic did not long survive the crisis, as Charles de Gaulle launched a coup to declare the Fifth French Republic after the humiliation of the formation of the United Arab Republic to French national pride.1956: UAR formed from Egypt, Syria-Jordan, Iraq. Nasser recognizes Lebanon is a "special case" despite large demonstrations for Arab unity there. Eisenhower's plans for a summit with the USSR at the end of his presidency are ruined by the Hungarian Revolution. Furious at his Vice President's refusal to condemn the Tripartite Aggression, Eisenhower makes his disagreement plain.
1957: Saudi Arabia, N Yemen & Sudan join UAR to form United Arab States, Israel completes withdrawal. Eisenhower warns of the power of the military-industrial-congressional complex in his Farewell Address. President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The Treaty of Rome and Euratom Treaty increase European integration (OTL).
1958: Saudi Arabia, Libya, N Yemen & N Sudan join UAR. President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1958, democratizing the United States.

The power struggle between King Saud and Prime Minister Faisal ends with Saud attempting to arrest Faisal earlier than OTL. But the army turns on both and Arabia joins the United Arab Republic. This inspires copycat coups in Libya, the Kingdom of Yemen, and Sudan. Widespread protests in South Sudan against joining the UAR last for months.

French coup - France falls into fascism. De Gaulle is killed, leaving Senate President Gaston Monnerville in charge. Most of the army refuses to accept a Black President of France, but the Navy and Colonies support Monnerville while the Air Force is split. Monnerville leads the Free French as government-in-exile which initially controls much of of the French Empire as well as its vote in the UN, but by 1970 is mainly in Central Africa.
1959: French crisis: The French junta gives Algerian land to Morocco in a bid to make Algeria more amenable to French interests. This causes backlash and the Moroccan Civil War begins to overlap with the Algerian War. The French crisis prompts the ratification of the European Defence Community, European Political Community, as the French junta aligns with Fascist Spain and Portugal. Unlike OTL Lyndon Johnson does not go to Madrid as Eisenhower did, having reversed Eisenhower's pro-Franco policies. Humberto Delgado is elected President of Portugal and begins democratizing the country.
Tunisia and Lebanon join UAS. Oil discovered in Libya (OTL). Nasser uses this increased political capital to grant independence to Sudan (OTL South Sudan) and Kurdistan, to preserve his credibility with African nationalists and irritate his rivals in Turkey and Iran. This reduces Nasser's popularity in the Mashreq and Khartoum.

1960: 1968 comes early in France, with the fascist regime falling over the Albert Camus protests. The regime splits on the question of Algerian partition and how far to repress domestic dissent. Napoleon VI becomes the puppet ruler of the Third French Empire, which only controls Corsica by 1970. The Carnation Revolution spread from France to Portugal, but Franco remains in power in Spain. Madagascar gains independence. One-country, two systems deal with British PM Gaitskell for British Gulf. Fermat Abbas declares an Arab Maghreb Union between Algeria & Morocco. OPEC founded (OTL). United States of Europe formed.
1961: Maghreb Union fully pacified. Internal dissent within the UAR over Nasser's increasing autocratic power centers on Nasser's Nasser foils Abdel Hakim Amer’s coup attempt which was encouraged by his aide Eli Cohen.
1962: Ben Bella replaces Abbas with support from the Oudja Group. The Carnation Revolution continues in France and Portugal.

1963: Nasser re-elected to another term in rigged elections. UAR presidential terms are seven years long. Patrice Lumumba becomes President of the United States of Congo.

1964: Fear of "Pink France" end when it joins the European Communities. But Belgium vetoes Portuguese entry. The country is enraged at how Portugal ceded much of Angola to new United States of Congo.

1965: Facing a military coup, Ben Bella announces the Arab Maghreb Union joins the United Arab Republic under the one country-two systems model

1966: Ghanan President Kwame Nkrumah becomes the first yearly President of the Non-Aligned Movement
1967: Namibian independence. End of apartheid in South Africa. Sukarno becomes President of the Non-Aligned Movement.

1968: Nasser becomes President of the Non-Aligned Movement. Nasser resigns from the Egyptian presidency after multiple heart attacks in favor of Butefliqa, but reminds head of the National Union. Arab Magreb Union President Abdelaziz Butefliqa, who was also Vice President of the UAR, becomes President of the UAR.
1968-70 The ruling one-party state is uneasy with two captains at the helm. Butefliqa and Nasser coexist uneasily.

1969: Free France splits when granting independence to the Mali Federation. The United Nations declares France's seat on the Security Council vacant. Ultimately Free France is readmitted to the UN under the name the United States of Latin Africa.

1970: Nasser returns and quickly consolidates power only to die suddenly in office. Vice President Hussein Hashimi becomes President, uniting the Arab world under his family rule but in a republican manner.
Credit to Asvaran for the Mali Federation internal borders, inspired by the Indian state reorganization.