Egypt after Mubarak Rutherford, Bruce K
2008, 2013., 20130221, 2013, 2008-12-14, 2013-02-21, 20080101, Letnik:
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Which way will Egypt go now that Husni Mubarak's authoritarian regime has been swept from power? Will it become an Islamic theocracy similar to Iran? Will it embrace Western-style liberalism and ...democracy?Egypt after Mubarakreveals that Egypt's secularists and Islamists may yet navigate a middle path that results in a uniquely Islamic form of liberalism and, perhaps, democracy. Bruce Rutherford draws on in-depth interviews with Egyptian judges, lawyers, Islamic activists, politicians, and businesspeople. He utilizes major court rulings, political documents of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the writings of Egypt's leading contemporary Islamic thinkers. Rutherford demonstrates that, in post-Mubarak Egypt, progress toward liberalism and democracy is likely to be slow.
Essential reading on a subject of global importance, this edition includes a new introduction by Rutherford that takes stock of the Arab Spring and the Muslim Brotherhood's victories in the 2011-2012 elections.
While many have noted how the regime of 'Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi differs from that of Husni Mubarak, scholars have not yet conceptualized these differences' significance. This article utilizes the ...literature on authoritarianism to argue that the Mubarak-Sisi transition was an attempt
to shift from a provision pact, grounded in an extensive patronage network, to a protection pact in which elites back the regime because it protects them from internal and external threats. This transition is incomplete and, as the protection pact disintegrates, Egypt is left with a fragmented
elite and a fractured state that renders the country more difficult to rule.
Egypt's autocratic regime is being weakened by economic crises, growing political opposition, and the pressures of globalization. Observers now wonder which way Egypt will go when the country's aging ...president, Husni Mubarak, passes from the scene: will it embrace Western-style liberalism and democracy? Or will it become an Islamic theocracy similar to Iran?Egypt after Mubarakdemonstrates that both secular and Islamist opponents of the regime are navigating a middle path that may result in a uniquely Islamic form of liberalism and, perhaps, democracy.
Bruce Rutherford examines the political and ideological battles that drive Egyptian politics and shape the prospects for democracy throughout the region. He argues that secularists and Islamists are converging around a reform agenda that supports key elements of liberalism, including constraints on state power, the rule of law, and protection of some civil and political rights. But will this deepening liberalism lead to democracy? And what can the United States do to see that it does? In answering these questions, Rutherford shows that Egypt's reformers are reluctant to expand the public's role in politics. This suggests that, while liberalism is likely to progress steadily in the future, democracy's advance will be slow and uneven.
Essential reading on a subject of global importance,Egypt after Mubarakdraws upon in-depth interviews with Egyptian judges, lawyers, Islamic activists, politicians, and businesspeople. It also utilizes major court rulings, political documents of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the writings of Egypt's leading contemporary Islamic thinkers.
What type of political order do Egypt's Islamists seek to create? This question is examined by studying two types of sources: the theoretical works of Egypt's most prominent contemporary Islamic ...thinkers and the documents issued by the Muslim Brotherhood during its 2005 parliamentary
campaign. These sources indicate that a distinctively Islamic conception of constitutionalism has emerged that legitimates many of the key goals of liberal governance, including constraints on state power, governmental accountability, and protection of some civil and political rights. However,
the institutions of Islamic constitutionalism support a conception of political order that differs from liberalism in important respects. These differences are most apparent with regard to the purpose of the state, the role of the individual in politics, and the function of law.
On April 30, 2006, the Egyptian Parliament voted by a large majority to renew the emergency law. This law grants the president extraordinary powers to detain citizens, prevent public gatherings, and ...issue decrees with little accountability to Parliament or the people. The vote was a familiar ritual: the Egyptian Parliament has routinely approved the emergency law for most of the past forty years.¹ However, this acquiescence to presidential power is not universal. A few months prior to the April vote, the Supreme Constitutional Court issued a ruling that substantially limited the scope of the president’s authority under the emergency law.
As Muhammad ‘Akif walked into the auditorium in downtown Cairo, the assembled journalists were both skeptical and curious. ‘Akif had been a relatively unknown figure in the Muslim Brotherhood. Now, ...in March 2004, he was the newly appointed General Guide of the organization. As he began his opening remarks, he addressed the issue that concerned most Egyptians: What, exactly, does the Brotherhood want? ‘Akif declared that the Brotherhood seeks “a republican system of government that is democratic, constitutional, and parliamentary and that conforms with Islamic principles.”¹
With this statement, ‘Akif asserted the Islamic alternative to both the regime and the
These remarks, by the president of the de facto professional association for judges (the Judges’ Club), reaffirmed the judiciary’s role as the standard bearer of Egypt’s liberal tradition. This ...tradition has its foundations in the legal and educational reforms of the late nineteenth century. It was marginalized during the Nasser period, but remained integral to the professional identity of both lawyers and judges. It reemerged after 1970 as one of the primary alternatives to the statist ideology of the Nasser era.
Egypt’s liberal tradition incorporates the core principles of classical liberalism: a clear and unbiased legal code, the division of
