DOCSLIB.ORG

Political Opposition and Authoritarian Rule in Egypt

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Political Opposition and Authoritarian Rule in Egypt Holger Albrecht Political Opposition and Authoritarian Rule in Egypt Dissertation Zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Doktor der Sozialwissenschaften in der Fakultät für Sozial- und Verhaltenswissenschaften der Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen 2007 Promotionserklärung Hiermit erkläre ich, dass ich diese Dissertation nicht bereits früher als Prüfungsarbeit bei einer akademischen oder staatlichen Prüfung verwendet habe oder mit ihr oder einer anderen Dissertation bereits einen Promotionsversuch unternommen habe. Tübingen, 29. Oktober 2007 (Holger Albrecht) Urheberschaftserklärung Hiermit erkläre ich, dass ich diese Dissertation selbständig verfasst, nur die angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel benutzt und wörtlich oder inhaltlich übernommene Stellen als solche gekennzeichnet habe. Tübingen, 29. Oktober 2007 (Holger Albrecht) Contents Note on Transliteration 1 List of Abbreviations 2 Acknowledgements 3 Introduction 7 Chapter 1: The Authoritarian State in the Middle East 13 1.1. Authoritarian vs. Patrimonial Regimes 14 1.2. ‘Liberalized Authoritarianism’ Reconsidered 27 1.3. Regime Stability and the Dynamics of Authoritarian Power Maintenance 34 Chapter 2: Political Participation in the Middle East: Authoritarianism from Below 41 2.1. Concept Traveling: Political Participation under Authoritarianism 41 2.2. Channels of Political Participation in the Middle East 49 2.3. Contentious Political Participation: The Civil Society Argument and Social Movement Theory 59 Social Movement Theory 59 The Civil Society Argument 63 1 Chapter 3: Political Opposition under Authoritarianism 71 3.1. Towards a Concept of Political Opposition 72 3.2. The Systemic Context: Opposition under Democracy vs. Authoritarianism 79 3.3. Patterns of Opposition under Authoritarianism in the Middle East 89 The Representation Function 93 The Legitimacy Function 93 The Channeling Function 94 The Moderation Function 94 Chapter 4: Mapping the Landscape of Contentious Politics in Egypt 97 4.1. Challengers in Elections: The Opposition Party Cartel 97 4.2. The ‘Civil Society Business’ 111 4.3. Street Politics: The “Pocket Protest” of Kifaya and the Workers’ Movement 117 ‘Kifaya’ – Enough of Mubarak! 118 An Emerging Workers’ Movement 125 4.4. The Islamist Movement 132 Chapter 5: Political Institutions in Egypt: Between Contention and Control 149 5.1. Parliament and Elections 150 5.2. Labor Unions, Professional Syndicates, and the ‘Dialogue Organizations’ 157 5.3. The Judiciary 166 5.4. Al-Azhar 170 Chapter 6: The Dynamics of Contentious Politics in Egypt 175 6.1. The Challenge towards the Egyptian Regime 179 6.2. The Support of Authoritarianism in Egypt 181 6.3. Struggles about Public Space 184 Bibliography 187 2 Note on Transliteration In order to render the proceedings of this study more accessible to the non-Arabic speaking reader, I have used, throughout the text, the spellings of Arabic names (of persons, geographic locations, organizations) and terms (e.g. ulema, sunni, etc.) that are commonly found in the English-speaking media and publications. 1 List of Abbreviations ACPSS Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies ADNP Arab Democratic Nasserist Party APEO Anti-Political Establishment Opposition APHRA Arab Program for Human Rights Activists ASU Arab Socialist Union CC Court of Cassation CCR Coordinating Committee for the Rights and Freedoms of the Syndicates and Labor CEDEJ Centre d’Études et de Documentation Économiques et Sociales CIJLP Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession CLAC Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee CSPI Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada CSS Center for Socialist Studies CTUWS Center for Trade Union and Worker Studies EOHR Egyptian Organization for Human Rights FSCP Free Social Constitutional Party GFTU General Federation of Trade Unions HMLC Hisham Mubarak Law Center IKC Ibn Khaldoun Center LCAC Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee LCHR Land Center for Human Rights LP Liberal Party MB Muslim Brotherhood MENA Middle East and North Africa MP Member of Parliament NCDWR National Committee for the Defense of Workers Rights NCHR National Council on Human Rights NFC National Front for Change NGO Non-Governmental Organization NDP National Democratic Party NPUP National Progressive Unionist Party PA People’s Assemply PPC Political Parties Committee PVA Private Voluntary Association SAC Supreme Administrative Court SCC Supreme Constitutional Court SLP Socialist Labor Party SJC Supreme Judicial Council SMT Social Movement Theory 2 Acknowledgements Not long ago, I was invited to a topping-out ceremony. Listening to my friend’s acknowledgment of people who supported him in his house-building adventure that took over two years to be accomplished, I was close to panic for three reasons: Firstly, I am still living in a rented flat; secondly, my own ‘grand project,’ the results of which have materialized in this study, spread over an embarrassingly long period of almost five years; and thirdly, so many people have supported this project that undue omissions are hardly avoidable. What first comes to my mind is the place where I have lived in the past 14 years and where this project came into being. After having worked for many years in the Middle East Department at Tübingen’s Political Science Institute, in several positi- ons during my graduate and post-graduate studies, my first thoughts go to the gui- dance, trust, and patience that I was fortunate to receive from my PhD supervisor Peter Pawelka. I am deeply indebted to him for giving me ample freedoms to deve- lop my personal ideas, as bizarre as they may have sounded once in a while. Among the Tübingen people who can, due to their useful comments, critique, and encouragement, claim a major stake in this study, the collaboration with Oliver Schlumberger stands out as particularly useful and impressive. Other colleagues and students out of the Tübingen research seminar “Forschungsforum Moderner Orient” and the Political Science Institute include André Bank, Rolf Frankenberger, Patricia Graf, Roy Karadag, Markus Loewe, Debby Rice, Thomas Richter, Rolf Schwarz, Irmtraud Seebold, and Thomas Stehnken. Some students who attended the seminars that I had to teach deserve credit for having challenged me to the extent that I was forced to think over some of my arguments; I will keep in mind, representing many others, Julius Kirchenbauer, Kevin Köhler, Fritz Matthäus, Marion Siebold, and Ja- na Warkotsch who joined me on a two-months long research mission to Cairo in 2005. Kevin Köhler’s support to this thesis as a research assistant is substantial and it will be hard in the future to get around without his dedication and competence. Accordingly, Kelly Neudorfer, by proof-reading the following chapters, spared me from the embarrassing concession that English remains still somewhat cumbrous a means of communication. While Tübingen – and the above people who I will always associate with this nice little Swabian town – owns by far the greatest share in the genesis of this PhD pro- ject, I am grateful that I was given the chance to travel in order to learn more about my subject. Traveling has had two main purposes: acquiring empirical knowledge about the subject that I decided to write about; and spreading some ideas and hypo- theses that came to my mind in the development of this PhD project with the aim of receiving criticism and support from what is nicely dubbed the ‘academic communi- ty’ (basically all those people who I met outside of Tübingen). As to the first purpo- se, several research missions led me to Cairo where I approached numerous people 3 with the intention of conducting interviews and lured them into conversations that proved immensely useful for my own understanding of the issue. Most of them are listed in the bibliography at the end of this manuscript. I am greatly indebted to them for sharing with me their knowledge about Egyptian politics. Among my ‘Cairo connections,’ I am especially grateful, for various reasons, to Alexander Haridi, Mohammed Farid Hassanein, Maye Kassem, Florian Kohstall, Emil Lieser, Ivesa Lübben, Iman Mandour, Vicky Reichl, Ahmed Saif al-Islam, Emad Shahin, Sabri Abdel-Mordy Zaki, and Walid. The purposes of my travelling history are ambivalent in that, on the one hand, trips led me to Cairo to learn new things and, on the other hand, other journeys had the aim of attending a number of conferences where I had the chance to present some results of my work even though the whole project was still in the making. Some of these presentations – and the generous input spent by a number of people – are reflected in distinct parts of this study. In March 2003, I was invited, together with Oliver Schlumberger, to participate at the 4th Mediterranean Social and Political Research Meeting (MSPRM) at the European University Institute in Florence & Montecatini Terme. Our contribution “’Waiting for Godot:’ Regime Change Without Democratization in the Middle East” was published in the International Political Science Review (2004) and influenced my reflections on the authoritarian state in the Middle East in chapter 1 of this study. In the following year, I came back to Montecatini Terme to attend the 5th Meeting and presented a paper that was later published in Democratization (2005). This piece of research, titled “How Can Opposition Support Authoritarianism?” can be grasped as an early ‘outline’ of my PhD project and the core hypotheses developed in much greater depth in this study. In the same year, my
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 2Nd Half FARA Report to Congress Ending December 31, 2007
    U.S. Department of Justice . Washington, D.C. 20530 Report of the Attorney General to the Congress of the United States on the Administration of the . Foreign Agents Registration Act . of 1938, as amended, for the six months ending December 31, 2007 Report of the Attorney General to the Congress of the United States on the Administration of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended, for the six months ending December 31, 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................... 1-1 AFGHANISTAN......................................................1 ALBANIA..........................................................2 ALGERIA..........................................................3 ANGOLA...........................................................4 ARUBA............................................................5 AUSTRALIA........................................................6 AUSTRIA..........................................................8 AZERBAIJAN.......................................................9 BAHAMAS..........................................................11 BANGLADESH.......................................................12 BARBADOS.........................................................14 BELGIUM..........................................................15 BELIZE...........................................................16 BENIN............................................................17 BERMUDA..........................................................18 BOLIVIA..........................................................19
    [Show full text]
  • Women and Islamic Law Christie S
    College of William & Mary Law School William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository Faculty Publications Faculty and Deans 2008 Lifting the Veil: Women and Islamic Law Christie S. Warren William & Mary Law School, cswarr@wm.edu Repository Citation Warren, Christie S., "Lifting the Veil: Women and Islamic Law" (2008). Faculty Publications. 99. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/99 Copyright c 2008 by the authors. This article is brought to you by the William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs LIFTING THE VEIL: WOMEN AND ISLAMIC LAW CHRISTIES. WARREN * "Treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers." From the Farewell Address of the Holy Prophet Muhammad1 I. INTRODUCTION By the end of February 632 and at the age of sixty-three, the Prophet Muhammad believed that his days on earth were coming to an end.2 He announced to his followers that he would lead the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, himself that year.3 On March 3, the Prophet delivered his farewell sermon near Mount Arafat.4 Among the limited number of topics he chose to include in his last public speech, he encouraged his followers to deal justly with one another and treat women well. 5 In the modem era, the rights of women under Islamic law have come under heightened scrutiny. Some commentators find the Prophet's farewell speech to be inconsistent with the way women are treated in some areas of the Muslim world. In Saudi Arabia, for example, women may neither drive nor vote.
    [Show full text]
  • A Revolution, a Change of Regime and 4 Rulers: Egypt’S Journey Through Washington’S Lobbies During the Decade of the Arab Spring
    A revolution, a change of regime and 4 rulers: Egypt’s journey through Washington’s lobbies during the decade of the Arab Spring Part 1 SPECIAL REPORT Middle East Monitor is a not-for-profit media research institute that provides research, information and analyses of primarily the Palestine-Israel conflict. It also provides briefings on other Middle East issues. Its outputs are made available for use by journalists, academics and politicians with an interest in the Middle East and North Africa. MEMO aims to influence policy and the public agenda from the perspective of social justice, human rights and international law. This is essential to obtain equality, security and social justice across the region, especially in Palestine. MEMO wants to see a Middle East framed by principles of equality and justice. A revolution, a change It promotes the restoration of Palestinian rights, including the Right of Return, a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and with democratic rights upheld. It also advocates a nuclear-free Middle East. of regime and 4 rulers: By ensuring that policy-makers are better informed, MEMO seeks to have a Egypt’s journey through Washington’s lobbies greater impact on international players who make key decisions affecting the during the decade of the Arab Spring Middle East. MEMO wants fair and accurate media coverage of Palestine and other Middle Eastern countries. Translated from SasaPost Title: A revolution, a change of regime and 4 rulers Cover Image: Flags of Egypt and the US Published: March 2021 © MEMO Publishers 2021 [translation]. Original Arabic by Sasapost MEMO Publishers All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • 5 / the Consequences of Legitimacy
    5 / THE CONSEQUENCES OF LEGITIMACY Legitimacy is a great social good. Sociological and psychological ac- counts stress its importance to human happiness because most indi- viduals prefer to relate to the powerful in moral rather than in self- interested terms. 1 Citizens strive to engage the state as moral agents, and a state that reciprocates will see its standing enhanced. Likewise, most rulers prefer to be esteemed rather than feared by their citizens: it is inherently desirable and it minimizes the time they spend worrying about their positions. 2 Prussian king Frederick the Great (r. 1740–86) fa- mously lamented to a courtier near the end of his life that he was “tired of ruling slaves.” 3 A legitimate state is less dominating over its citizens because the le- gitimate use of power minimizes the negative consequences of power.4 Whatever else legitimate states do for their citizens, one of the great- est public services they deliver is rightful rule itself. Political science is unique in having entire branch of philosophy attached to it for this reason: achieving rightful rule is a momentous social feat. By impli- cation, low-legitimacy states are failing to deliver an important public service, namely allowing citizens to esteem the rulers that claim their obedience. However, legitimacy’s importance does not end with its inherent value. If that were the case, its central place in the history of politi- cal thought would be inexplicable. Rather, legitimacy has instrumental benefi ts that suffuse many aspects of political life. In the last chapter, we saw how Uganda was transformed after 1986 with the coming to power of the National Resistance Movement.
    [Show full text]
  • Summer Newsletter 2010
    SUMMER 2010 NEWSLETTER www.bellequine.co.uk would like to help this venture, please your horse, pony or donkey should it ever NEWS contact Zofia Lisowski or Jo Gregory at Bell need to stay with us. The interns also are Equine on 01622 813700 . important members of our team should We will be sorry to say goodbye to Zofia Zofia will be replaced by Whitney your horse need Lisowski, our intern, who completes her Linnenkohl , whom many of you will know emergency year with us in June. After she finishes treatment out of hours. Each intern spends about a year working in this role and Bell Equine appreciates all that they do here to help care Whitney Linnenkohl for our patients. Jo Gregory Whitney , our newest intern, joins us from already from the time she has previously Macon, Georgia, USA. She recently spent at Bell Equine as a vet student here. graduated from the University of Georgia, We are delighted to welcome her as the College of Veterinary Medicine and was Zofia with one of her favourite patients newest member of our team. awarded the American College of Vet All our interns live on site at the hospital Surgeons Student Award for excellence here, she is heading back to an equine and are responsible for the primary care of in Large Animal Surgery. charity in Luxor, Egypt, where she worked previously. Together with one of our head veterinary nurses Jo Gregory , the two JUST JABS? are spending time in July working at the veterinary centre Animal Care in Egypt Recommendations for the use of vaccinations can confuse people.
    [Show full text]
  • Mesc November 2006
    The Newsletter of Middle East Studies Center, American University in Cairo November/December 2006 THIS MONTH’S FEATURE: HUMAN RIGHTS IN EGY P T WWW.AUCEGYPT.EDU/ACADEMIC/MESC/ Page 2 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: FROM THE DIRECTOR 3 JOEL BEININ THE CARAVAN DEBATE: AN OVERVIEW 4 GARTH HALL DESKILLING EGYPTIAN POLICE, PRIVATIZING TORTURE 6 HOSSAM EL-HAMALAWY HUMAN RIGHTS IN EGYPT: A SEARCH FOR A PUBLIC ATTITUDE 7 MONA HEIKAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN EGYPT: A 2006 CALENDAR 8 GARTH HALL LECTURE OF AMR HAMZAWY 13 LENKA BENOVA MAKING IRAQ’S OIL WORK FOR IRAQIS 15 RORY A. MCNAMARA BOOK REVIEW, HAMAS: POLITICS, CHARITY, AND TERRORISM 18 WILLIAM JON HUMMEL ALUMNI UPDATES 19 LENKA BENOVA Editor Garth Hall The views expressed here are those of their authors and not necessarily Editor J. Marshall Brown those of MESC, the editor, or the Associate Editor Rory A. McNamara Middle East studies program. Associate Editor Lenka Benova Associate Editor Danny Corbin OCTOBER 2006 Page 3 FROM THE DIRECTOR JOEL BEININ ‘Ashura and the City of Kar- being organized by Dr. Saad hope that everyone bala,” which was on display Eddin Ibrahim. It will take I had a restful ‘eid break at the Falaki Gallery from place shortly after Coptic and that we are all refreshed November 12-28. Christmas (January 6). For and ready to enter the sec- information, contact Dr. The Interdisciplinary Advisory ond half of the fall semester Saad’s student assistant, Committee has approved a with renewed energy and Maria Dayton at mariaday- proposal for a comprehensive commitment. ton@hotmail.com.
    [Show full text]
  • Initial Considerations for the Creation of an Inter-Regional Industrial Hemp Value Chain Between Malawi and South Africa
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Lowitt, Sandy Working Paper Initial considerations for the creation of an inter- regional industrial hemp value chain between Malawi and South Africa WIDER Working Paper, No. 2020/23 Provided in Cooperation with: United Nations University (UNU), World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) Suggested Citation: Lowitt, Sandy (2020) : Initial considerations for the creation of an inter- regional industrial hemp value chain between Malawi and South Africa, WIDER Working Paper, No. 2020/23, ISBN 978-92-9256-780-4, The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki, http://dx.doi.org/10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2020/780-4 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/229247 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte.
    [Show full text]
  • The Muslim Brotherhood Fol- Lowing the “25 Janu- Ary Revolution”
    Maria Dolores Algora Weber CEU San Pablo University THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD FOL- LOWING THE “25 JANU- ARY REVOLUTION”: FROM THE IDEALS OF THE PAST TO THE POLITICAL CHAL- LENGES OF THE PRESENT In the framework of the Arab Spring, as the wave of social mobilisation of 2011 has come to be known, the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt marked the beginning of a process which has deeply transformed the re- ality of many countries in the Arab World. In Egypt, the events that took place in Tahrir Square not only put an end to President Mubarak's dic- tatorship, but also paved the way for new political actors, among which the Muslim Brotherhood has played a key role. During the subsequent transition, the Brotherhood gained control of the National Assembly and positioned their leader, Mohamed Mursi, as the new President. The present debate is focused on the true democratic vocation of this move- ment and its relationship with the other social forces inside Egypt and beyond. This article intends to address these issues. To that end, it begins with an explanation as to the ideological and political evolution of the Muslim Brotherhood and its internal changes brought about by the end of the previous regime, closing with an analysis of its transnational influ- ence and the possible international aftermaths. Islam, Islamism, Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt, Arab Spring 181 INTRODUCTION n 2011, a wave of social mobilisations took place in various Arab countries and which came to be known as the “Arab Spring”. This name is undoubtedly an at- tempt to draw a comparison between the historic process that unfolded in Europe Iin the mid-nineteenth century and the events that have taken place in the Arab World.
    [Show full text]
  • David Schenker
    MENU Policy Analysis / PolicyWatch 1796 Egypt after the Revolution: An Early Assessment by David Schenker Apr 14, 2011 ABOUT THE AUTHORS David Schenker David Schenker is the Taube Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Brief Analysis n April 11, 2011, J. Scott Carpenter, Dina Guirguis, David Schenker, and Robert Satloff addressed a special O Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute. Ms. Guirguis is a Keston Family research fellow with Project Fikra: Defeating Extremism through the Power of Ideas. Mr. Schenker is the Aufzien fellow and director of the Program on Arab Politics at the Institute. The following is a rapporteur's summary of Ms. Guirguis and Mr. Schenker's remarks. Dr. Satloff and Mr. Carpenter's remarks will be published separately. DINA GUIRGUIS I n stark contrast to the Hosni Mubarak era, liberal and Islamist political forces alike have appeared on Egypt's dynamic political landscape, while traditional currents have largely diminished. Though certain emerging forces, such as the Salafists, have existed for some time as social or religious movements, they are now engaging in Egypt's expanding political sphere. For example, during Egypt's first postrevolutionary referendum on March 19, Salafists campaigned at the mosques, urging their followers to support the amendments, even though hardline Salafist doctrine rejects political engagement. The religious forces now appearing on the Egyptian political scene are not monolithic. Eight distinct "Salafist" groups can be identified, with each appealing to a slightly different segment of the population. Of these, the relatively left-leaning Muslim Brotherhood, for example, will likely splinter into three separate political parties: Freedom and Justice, Nahda (under the leadership of "reformer" Abdel Moneim Aboul Fattouh), and possibly Shabab al-Ikhwan (Youth of the Muslim Brotherhood), the last of which played a key role during the revolution by participating in the Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution.
    [Show full text]
  • Print This Article
    ISSN: 2051-0861 Publication details, including guidelines for submissions: https://journals.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/nmes From Dictatorship to “Democracy”: Neoliberal Continuity and Its Crisis in Tunisia Author(s): Mehmet Erman Erol To cite this article: Erol, Mehmet Erman (2020) ―From Dictatorship to ―Democracy‖: Neoliberal Continuity and Its Crisis in Tunisia‖, New Middle Eastern Studies 10 (2), pp. 147- 163. Online Publication Date: 30 December 2020 Disclaimer and Copyright The NMES editors make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information contained in the journal. However, the Editors and the University of Leicester make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness or suitability for any purpose of the content and disclaim all such representations and warranties whether express or implied to the maximum extent permitted by law. Any views expressed in this publication are the views of the authors and not the views of the Editors or the University of Leicester. Copyright New Middle Eastern Studies, 2020. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, transmitted or disseminated, in any form, or by any means, without prior written permission from New Middle Eastern Studies, to whom all requests to reproduce copyright material should be directed, in writing. Terms and Conditions This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date.
    [Show full text]
  • Approaching Rule of Law in Post-Revolution Egypt: Where We Were, Where We Are, and Where We Should Be*
    !"#$%&'(%)(*(+&(,-#"./%#0%1'$(,%2*,3.3. !""#$%&'()*+,-./+$0+1%2+()+3$456,/7$.-5($)+8*9"5 !! !!" $ !% "! ! $ #! &$ 314758-TEXT.NATIVE.1350535652.DOCX (DO NOT DELETE) 10/17/2012 9:48 PM ! U.C. DAVIS JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW & POLICY VOLUME 18 SPRING 2012 NUMBER 2 ARTICLE APPROACHING RULE OF LAW IN POST-REVOLUTION EGYPT: WHERE WE WERE, WHERE WE ARE, AND WHERE WE SHOULD BE* Ahmed Eldakak** ABSTRACT Partial absence of rule of law was a central reason for the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, and the Revolution provides a golden opportunity to establish full rule of law in Egypt. Using a substantive approach to interpreting the rule of law doctrine, this Article analyzes the aspects of absence of rule of law before the Revolution. The former regime disregarded the rule of law by amending the constitution to promote the rule of the president, issuing laws that served the interests of the president’s entourage, not enforcing judicial decisions, restricting freedom of speech, and concentrating the power in the hands of the president through the disreputable emergency law. The period following the Revolution witnessed an increasing trend toward respecting the rule of law, through changes such as enforcement of judicial decisions, trying the former president and his entourage before courts of law, and increased promotion of freedom of expression. However, several serious obstacles to promoting rule of law remain after the Revolution: the current constitutional mess, the state of emergency, and the military trials for civilians. Ultimately, this Article seeks to provide a roadmap to establishing full rule of law in Egypt, recommending the 314758-TEXT.NATIVE.1350535652.DOCX (DO NOT DELETE) 10/17/2012 9:48 PM 262 University of California, Davis [Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • ARRESTS of MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD MEMBERS and SUPPORTERS Amnesty International Publications
    EGYPT ARRESTS OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS Amnesty International Publications First published in 2013 by Amnesty International Publications International Secretariat Peter Benenson House 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW United Kingdom www.amnesty.org © Amnesty International Publications 2013 Index: MDE 12/035/2013 Original Language: English Printed by Amnesty International, International Secretariat, United Kingdom All rights reserved. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy, campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale. The copyright holders request that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, or for reuse in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable. To request permission, or for any other inquiries, please contact copyright@amnesty.org Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. CONTENTS Introduction .............................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]