MidEast Brief::Egypt

Current social and political unrest in Egypt is not the consequence of reform driven activism like that of 2004 and 2005, but a reaction to worsening economic conditions by independent and discordant activists. The regime's repressive response--using security forces and various coercive methods to preempt or smother strikes--has failed to stabilize the street. The decentralized nature of these protests makes it more difficult for the regime to contain them, but also prevents the formation of a cohesive opposition movement with clear objectives.

Brothers in Arms? Engaging the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

Joshua Stacher

Institute for Public Policy Research - April, 2008

Within and between western governments, a heated policy debate is raging over the question of whether or not to engage with the world's oldest and most influential political Islamist group: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

Mubarak Hangs On

Steven A. Cook

Middle East Strategy at Harvard - April, 2008

A repeat of the 1977 bread riots seems like a distinct possibility. It is at moments like these when the gap between objective reality and the dominant narrative becomes so wide that political entrepreneurs emerge and play on the anger, hopelessness, and fears of a beaten-down population.

Underbelly of Egypt's Neoliberal Agenda

Joel Beinin

MERIP - April, 2008

The combination of repression, apathy and political demobilization that has sustained autocracy in Egypt for over half a century is being forcefully challenged, making it increasingly difficult for the Mubarak regime, if not its capitalist cronies, to conduct business as usual.

Crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood

Ibrahim El Houdaiby

Conflicts Forum - February, 2008

Those who believe that the ongoing crackdowns on the Muslim Brotherhood by the Egyptian regime will cause a major setback for the country's largest and most powerful civil opposition group are definitely mistaken. Brotherhood members are an integral living part of the Egyptian society who can never be marginalized. In fact, the only possible outcome for such crackdowns is increasing the group's popularity and radicalizing political Islam.

The Brotherhood's Dilemma

Marc Lynch

Brandeis Crown Center for Middle East Studies - January, 2008

The question of the Muslim Brotherhood's (MB) real attitudes toward democracy has rarely been of more intense interest to American foreign policy. Despite recent electoral setbacks for the Islamic Action Front in Jordan and the Moroccan Party of Justice and Democracy, Islamist electoral success (the Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas in Palestine, the AKP in Turkey) has thrown into sharp relief the dilemma posed for the United States by promoting democracy: Free elections in today's Arab world are likely to produce Islamist victors.

Mubarak Under Pressure

Ian Black

The Guardian - January, 2008

It has been an uncomfortable few days for President Husni Mubarak, watching anxiously as the crisis in Gaza spilled over onto his territory, focusing intense and unwelcome attention - both at home and abroad - on Egypt's role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Draft Party Platform of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood: Foray Into Political Integration or Retreat Into Old Positions?

Nathan Brown, Amr Hamzawy

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - January, 2008

Egypt's Press: More Free, Still Fettered

Jeffrey Black

Arab Media and Society - January, 2008

Nasser's Complex Legacy

Tarek Osman

Open Democracy - January, 2008

Brotherhood Bloggers: A New Generation Voices Dissent

Khalil Al-Anani

Arab Insight, World Security Institute - January, 2008