The Democratic Deficit in Egypt: the search for Arab Democracy (original) (raw)
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Democratisation in Egypt from a Historical Perspective: Problems, Pitfalls and Prospects
History of democratisation in Egypt could as best be dated back to 1970s. But little democratic progress was achieved in Sadat's and Mubarak's tenure until the Arap Spring. There are many handicaps before democratisation in Egypt: the elite's stake in the authoritarian rule, widespread political extremism, structural problems within the political culture of the country in terms of democracy etc. This article ultimately argues that Egyptian democratisation process seems to be a painful and bloody process, but in the long term after the Arab Spring, the clock is ticking in favour of democracy. Tarihi Bir Perspektiften Misir'da Demokratikleşme Süreci: Sorunlar, Tehlikeler ve İhtimaller ÖZET Mısır'ın demokratikleşme tarihi en uygun olarak 1970'lerden itibaren başlatılabilir. Arap Baharı'na kadar, Sedat ve Mübarek'in başkanlık dönemlerinde demokrasi açısından oldukça sınırlı bir ilerleme kaydedilmiştir. Mısır'ın demokratikleşmesinin önündeki engeller çeşitlidir: Elitlerin otoriter yönetimde menfaatlerinin bulunması, yaygın siyasi aşırılık, ülkenin siyasi kültürünün haşin olması vs. Bu makale nihaî olarak Mısır'ın demokratikleşmesinin uzun ve sancılı bir süreç olduğunu, ancak Arap Baharı'nın getirdiği tecrübenin sonucunda ülkenin demokratikleşme serüveninin ağır aksak da olsa uzun vadede devam edeceğini iddia etmektedir.
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Abstract: The evolution in Egypt on 25 January 2011 could not be properly understood except in the context of neoliberal economic change. Although the economic liberalization policies of the two decades were bound with the autocracy yet a crony capitalization found new opportunities in the situation. Many positive and visible developments are there in Egypt after the fall of Husni Mubaik including rise of independent trade union, federation and other social groups and even more independent groups in the uplift of political parties with a deep longing of rebuilding the democratic structure in the society. The higher turnout of voter in referendum expresses clearly that the public in Egypt has a great desire to take active part in political process. Hence an effort to explore potentials and challenges for building democratic society in Egypt is the hallmark of this paper.
The principal objective of this paper is to describe and analyze the failure process of democratization in the Egypt after Mubarak regime. The article continues to give an overview over the current situation inside Egypt after the revolution and collects some evidence for a changed relationship between democracy and stability inside the country. In this context, when Mohammad Morsi won the presidential election in June 2012, On 3 July, 2013, a coalition led by the Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removed the President of Egypt, Mohammad Morsi, from power and suspended the Egyptian constitution, as a conscious response to Egyptian protesters who demanded the end of Morsi's administration and the initiation of early presidential elections. This vicious cycle repeats itself is authoritarian survival of the political regime, which is an intrinsic tendency in Egyptian politics. As Egypt’s flawed transition after the Arab Spring requires a comprehensive analysis, this brief aims to discuss the complex nature and practice of authoritarian survival in Egypt and to offer realistic policy alternatives in dealing with this structural problem. Therefore the Egyptian revolution created a situation of transition which is by definition a period of instability and limited prediction. This is a crucial issue because the direction and orientation of a deep societal democratization process are still unclear. Key words: Egypt, democracy, revolution, authoritarian, Mubarak regime.
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In a democracy, people live by the notion of absolute equality before the law. In practice, however, there are always many ways where the execution of the law often ends up favoring someone, usually the most powerful. This is dramatically true in less-developed democracies, where the majority of the masses tend to feel displaced by members of the elite. This situation can help explain why there are so many skeptics of democracy in the developing nations. In Egypt, after the 2011 revolution and the 2012 elections, it became evident that the newly born Egyptian democracy will have to overcome a hostile environment full of skepticism, coupled with huge external challenges, such as keeping intact the peace treaty with Israel, the distribution of hydraulic resources agreement with the countries of Central Africa, and the preservation of equilibrium with their Arab neighbors-many of them fearful of democratic progress in the region.
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Egyptian politics went through an unprecedented process of change that has constitutional,legal, and political dimensions. The process started on February 26th when President Hosni Mubarak asked the two legislative bodies—the People’s Council and the Shura Council—to amend Article 76 of the Egyptian constitution. The purpose of this policy brief is to evaluate this process with respect to its short- and long-term impact on Egyptian politics. Because of Egypt’s central role in the politics of the Middle East, future trends in Egyptian politics will be of critical importance for American policies in the Middle East.