Arab Awakening's columnists offer their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the Middle East. Leading the week, Democracy's hall of mirrors in the post-Gezi world? A call for global dialgue
January 25 2011 seemed forever immune, until now. Amidst the brutal violence, an ideological battle rages on for the soul of Egypt.
How can we make sense of the contradictory arguments? Who actually wants democracy in Egypt? Let’s review the positions of the three major actors in Egypt today.
Most of Egypt’s allies - except notably for Turkey and Qatar - were clearly more comfortable with the military that promised “stability” than with the Muslim Brotherhood that had won the country’s first elections. This is what counter-revolution looks like.
This bi-weekly Arab Awakening space is a holding operation on Egypt - excerpts from their articles, blogs and tweets - as people try to work out what is happening. The ‘You tell us’ feature offers some first hand accounts and a range of opinions, first and foremost from the people of Egypt.
Violence in Egypt will only be reigned in when it is no longer useful for the security services’ twin purposes of discrediting the Muslim Brotherhood and discouraging popular mobilization aimed at making government responsive to the needs of its citizens.
What are the particular circumstances in modern Egyptian history that have imparted such weight to sectarian appeals and permitted the emergence of two solitudes?
Al-Qaida has twice returned from presumed defeat. Now, the fate of the Arab awakening provides it with a third opportunity.
The election results gave little say to the revolutionaries, a leaderless group with no structure or any clear, unifying agenda. This camp – which includes leftists, nationalists and remnants of the old regime – rallies under the vague banner of liberalism.
The already strained Baghdad-Ankara relationship has further deteriorated in recent years, due to regional crises, internal political instability, narrow perceptions and regional interests.
