Warring democracies : the army, the muslim brotherhood & the rest in Egypt post 2011 (original) (raw)
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Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences, 2020
Purpose This paper aims to examine why the alliance formed between non-Islamist forces and state actors to oust Mohamed Morsi from power in 2013 broke down quickly. Design/methodology/approach This paper makes use of original data set derived from three waves of surveys fielded in 2011, 2014 and 2015 that ask questions about public threat perception. Around 10 elite interviews were also conducted to further test the study’s hypothesis. Findings On the one hand, non-Islamists, civic forces challenged the status and interests of state actors in a way that made state actors view them with heightened distrust. On the other, many civic forces, in face of high threat perception, prioritized law during and order after Morsi’s removal, driven – at least partly – by shifts in public attitudes. Originality/value Many views look at transitions in the Arab world from the angle of how Islamists interact with traditional power holders. Such an approach, however, could be reductionist in many ways...
This chapter seeks to understand the challenges to the emergence of democratic governance in the aftermath of Egypt’s 25 January Revolution. Much political science scholarship as well as many Western politicians conceptualized the 25 January Revolution as the beginning of a transition from authoritarian rule to democracy. Yet, what emerged in the period until 30 June 2013 is a ‘grey zone’ (Carothers 2002) between democracy and authoritarianism, where the institutions of democracy existed in name (elections, constitutions, parliaments) but in reality functioned as vehicles for securing obedience to the ruling regimes of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), followed by that of the Muslim Brotherhood under former President Mohammed Morsi. This chapter argues that the challenges facing Egyptians in achieving their aims are intrinsically linked to the challenges of dismantling authoritarianism, which, in turn are related to the specific historical experiences of Egypt’s state- and nation-building processes. I build on my previous work on democracy and authoritarianism in the Arab world (Pratt 2007) in order to understand the dynamics of post-Mubarak Egypt. Within this framework, overcoming authoritarianism does not merely depend on crafting democratic institutions. I argue that there is a need to reassess the legacies of colonialism and imperialism for Egyptian identity construction and, linked to this, conceptions of citizenship, in order to open spaces for pluralism and inclusion.
STATE AND REVOLUTION IN EGYPT: THE PARADOX OF CHANGE AND POLITICS
Crown Center for Middle East Studies, 2012
Change has come to the Middle East in the most unexpected of ways. The region that was regarded by many as the most ossified region in the world has been experiencing massive democratic movements since early 2011. The “Arab Exception,” a concept codified by Western scholars that argued that the Arab world was immune from the waves of democratization that have transformed other regions, has been proved wrong. Even the idea that Arab rulers and a good part of the Arab elite have themselves promoted—that Arabs were a “particular” people with a distinct culture that should not be corrupted by Western ideas or tainted by others seeking to mold their history—has been rendered inoperative.this essay will speculate about possible future directions the revolution might take. As revolutionary change in Egypt is still ongoing, it is important to analyze this fluid situation in order to account for the course that events have taken, and identify the directions that appear to have policy implications. The major argument in this essay is that the struggle between the civil and military bureaucrats, the theocrats, and the democrats illustrates the paradox of Egyptian politics with respect to change and development—even as the dynamic interactions between these three paradigms have generated a multiplicity of “sideshows” in the saga that is the Egyptian search for progress.
Journal of the Human and Social Science Researches, 2020
The Muslim Brotherhood witnessed an unexpected political power with its electoral victory in legislative and presidential elections soon after the fall of Mubarak in Egypt. Although the Brotherhood enjoyed high popular support, to a great extent, thanks to its charity activities and social services, soon after Morsi took office, this popular support began to diminish dramatically. On the first anniversary of Morsi’s inauguration as president, millions of Egyptians took to the streets to protest against his administration. Massive street protests ended up with a military coup that eliminated the prospects for Egypt’s transition to democracy. This article investigates how the Brotherhood’s policies vis a vis the deep state in Egypt made the organization vulnerable in the awake of street protests in 2013. First, the article makes a brief overview of the historical evolution of the Muslim Brotherhood and then, it explores critical decisions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood leadership during Egypt’s transition and their implications. Finally, it examines the organization’s policies in the aftermath of the coup.
The New Egypt: Socio-political Dynamics and the Prospects of the Transition to Democracy
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2013
The February 11, 2011 victory of pro-democracy forces has ushered in great hopes for actual political and social changes in Egypt. The military-led long authoritarian rule has come to an end, and Egypt has stepped in a new era of transition to democracy. This paper probes the prospects of democratic transformation in Egypt in light of its unique pre and postrevolutionary social and political dynamics. It argues that Egypt's transition to democracy largely depends on the chemistry of post-revolutionary socio-political dynamics and how this dynamics keeps unfolding.
The role of global actors on the failed transition to democracy in Egypt
Journal of Human Sciences, 2018
The paper aims to roles of the global actors on the failed transition to democracy in Egypt. In this study, the negative political influence of powerful states on Egypt evaluated in terms of democracy. The current social inequality in the region continued to increase in the 2000s. Egypt's authoritarian leader were not able to establish the relations between state structures and citizens in the last decade. The global actors had crucial roles on the continuation the authoritarian regime in Egypt. They were easily able to get their demands from Hosni Mubarak. When the time was at the end of 2010, the popular uprising movements affected the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region deeply. Egypt was one of the most remarkable countries in the region where Hosni Mubarak ousted. The people in Egypt wanted to have a democratic rule in order to have solutions to the social inequality, favoritism, and corruption. Normally, the powerful global actors should have played positive role so ...
Political Development and democracy in Egypt during 21st Century
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.
Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Egypt: The Role of External Actors
Turkish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 2020
In 2013, Egypt's first democratically elected president Mohammed Morsi was overthrown by a military coup. Since then the country has undergone serious setbacks in terms of democracy, individual freedoms, and social justice. Egypt's failed revolution and the military coup could not be thought independently from the role of external actors-either directly or indirectly involved in this process. Despite their political rhetoric emphasizing democracy promotion and political reforms, both the US and the EU failed to pursue consistent and contributory policies in promoting democratic transition in Egypt out of fear that the electoral victory of Islamist groups would harm their interests in the region. On the other hand, the Gulf Monarchies played a pivotal role in the entrenchment of the military rule by providing financial and political support to the military-backed government as a shield against the democratically elected government in Egypt. This article investigates how the policies adopted by Egypt's key allies, the European Union, the US and the Gulf Monarchies, impacted the trajectory of Egypt's political transition in the face of the January 25 revolution and 2013 military coup. The main thesis of the article is that the policies pursued by external actors created a political environment unfavorable for democratic change in Egypt.