Due to Egypt’s dire political and economic situation, pain and alienation are bound to be a feature of the lives of many for years to come.
The view that social struggle should be repressed is hindering the opposition. Unless the view of the state and its coercive apparatus changes, the chances of wide scale social transformation are limited.
The Egyptian regime is moving decisively to close what remains of public space, dominating all aspects of political life for decades to come.
The urban middle class in Egypt is averse to situations where class conflict is heightened and thus justifies repression by the state.
As time passes, pressure on the regime will mount and a choice will have to be made between a domestic crisis, loss of valuable allies and international support.
The expected transfer of the Tiran and Sanafir islands is revealing a number of regional dynamics between Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Egyptian nationalism, as an ideology nurtured by the military elites and embraced by the middle class, marginalizes the mass of Egyptians.
The root of state violence and torture is not poor police training, nor a political decision that can be reversed, it is the nature of the regime and the political order it has created.
The lesson Arab autocrats are likely to learn from Syria is simple: under the current international climate the use of severe repression is effective.
The election of Trump will give second wind to autocrats in the region as well as create space for the growth of Russian influence.
Unless Egyptian capitalism evolves beyond the current stage of cronyism to competitive accumulation, no amount of loans or policy reforms will solve the problems of the economy.
The Egyptian mass protests can only be classified as a reform movement that had hoped to create a liberal order. A modest goal that has degenerated into a full-spectrum military autocracy.
