Egypt
Global Political Hot Spots
1. Edition October 2017
264 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Short Description
Egypt is one of the few great empires of antiquity that exists today as a nation state. Despite its extraordinary record of national endurance, the pressures to which Egypt currently is subjected and which are bound to intensify are already straining the ties that hold its political community together, while rendering ever more difficult the task of governing it.
In this timely book, leading expert on Egyptian affairs Robert Springborg explains how a country with such a long and impressive history has now arrived at this parlous condition. As Egyptians become steadily more divided by class, religion, region, ethnicity, gender and contrasting views of how, by whom and for what purposes they should be governed, so their rulers become ever more fearful, repressive and unrepresentative. Caught in a downward spiral in which poor governance is both cause and consequence, Egypt is facing a future so uncertain that it could end up resembling neighboring countries that have collapsed under similar loads. The Egyptian "hot spot", Springborg argues, is destined to become steadily hotter, with ominous implications for its peoples, the Middle East and North Africa, and the wider world.
Further versions
Egypt is one of the few great empires of antiquity that exists today as a nation state. Despite its extraordinary record of national endurance, the pressures to which Egypt currently is subjected and which are bound to intensify are already straining the ties that hold its political community together, while rendering ever more difficult the task of governing it.
In this timely book, leading expert on Egyptian affairs Robert Springborg explains how a country with such a long and impressive history has now arrived at this parlous condition. As Egyptians become steadily more divided by class, religion, region, ethnicity, gender and contrasting views of how, by whom and for what purposes they should be governed, so their rulers become ever more fearful, repressive and unrepresentative. Caught in a downward spiral in which poor governance is both cause and consequence, Egypt is facing a future so uncertain that it could end up resembling neighboring countries that have collapsed under similar loads. The Egyptian "hot spot", Springborg argues, is destined to become steadily hotter, with ominous implications for its peoples, the Middle East and North Africa, and the wider world.
* PREFACE
* CHAPTER ONE: ERODING HISTORICAL LEGACIES
* Causes of the uprising
* Why the uprising was not anticipated
* Why the uprising failed
* Consequences of the coup-volution
* Weakening state institutions
* Fraying political community
* Conclusion
* CHAPTER TWO: THE DEEP STATE PRESIDES: MILITARY, PRESIDENCY, AND INTELLIGENCE SERVICES
* A limited access order
* Despotic not infrastructural power: a fierce but brittle state
* Caught in a socio-fiscal trap
* The deep state tripod
* The military
* Intelligence services
* The presidency
* Conclusion
* CHAPTER THREE: UNDER THE THUMB--BUREAUCRATS, JUDGES AND PARLIAMENTARIANS
* Executive branch
* Penetration by the deep state
* Divided and ruled
* Hyper centralization
* Judicial branch
* Nominal autonomy and the carrot and the stick
* Institutionally isolated with restricted jurisdictions
* Parliament
* Selection not election
* Lurking behind the benches: subordination to the deep state
* Isolated and ungrounded: parliament cut off at the feet
* Conclusion
* CHAPTER FOUR: POLITICAL AND CIVIL SOCIETY--LITTLE ROOM TO BREATHE
* The Religious
* Christians
* MuslimsÑofficial Islam
* MuslimsÑIslamist organizations
* Jihadis
* Indiscriminate rather than selective deterrence
* Hobbled vanguards: youth and organized labor
* Conclusion
* CHAPTER FIVE: REAPING WHAT IS SOWN
* In search of a development model
* Rent seeking in lieu of development
* Human resources imperiled
* Physical and environmental decay
* Foreign policy adrift
* Conclusion
* CHAPTER SIX: THE ROCKY ROAD AHEAD
Hazem Kandil, University of Cambridge
"In Egypt, Robert Springborg has produced a sober and devastating overview of the issues that face the country in the wake of the Arab Spring. Unlike many other commentators who focus too narrowly on today's political actors, Springborg explores the historical, demographic, and economic forces that have created the current situation. Anybody who hopes to understand where the Egyptian state has come from, and where it is likely to go, should read this book."
Peter Hessler, staff writer at the New Yorker
"Egypt, Robert Springborg's latest release, is a fascinating exploration of the deep state that established the republic, and that continues to rule the country with an iron fist."
The New Arab
"A powerful book by a respected scholar who has studied the country for many decades, Egypt traces in great detail and much clarity the traditions and mechanics of the "deep state" that has defined modern Egypt, including chapters on the presidency, the armed forces and security agencies, the parliament, civil society, and the "rocky road ahead." I recommend it strongly to any reader who wants to understand the autocratic trends that continue to proliferate across our region."
Rami G. Khouri, American University of Beirut
