DOCSLIB.ORG

The Military Kleptocracy of Egypt – Gatekeeper and Saboteur: an Assessment of Egypt’S Deteriorating Economic Terms of Trade and Strategies for Coping and Reform

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Military Kleptocracy of Egypt – Gatekeeper and Saboteur: an Assessment of Egypt’S Deteriorating Economic Terms of Trade and Strategies for Coping and Reform The Military Kleptocracy of Egypt – Gatekeeper and Saboteur: An Assessment of Egypt’s Deteriorating Economic Terms of Trade and Strategies for Coping and Reform The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation McDonough, Michael J. 2018. The Military Kleptocracy of Egypt – Gatekeeper and Saboteur: An Assessment of Egypt’s Deteriorating Economic Terms of Trade and Strategies for Coping and Reform. Master's thesis, Harvard Extension School. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:42004015 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA The Military Kleptocracy of Egypt – Gatekeeper and Saboteur: An Assessment of Egypt’s Deteriorating Economic Terms of Trade and Strategies for Coping and Reform Michael J. McDonough A Thesis in the Field of Middle Eastern Studies for the Master of Liberal Arts Degree in Extension Studies Harvard University March 2018 Copyright 2018 Michael J. McDonough ii Abstract Egypt has had a long history of statism, whereby the government has ensured its regime preservation and longevity with transfer payments and/or subsidies to secure peace and “keep the machine running”. Some analysts estimate that recently as much as 70.4% of all household income derives from Egyptian government transfer payments or state employment and 74.7% of all households use subsidies to pay for food, with the average Egyptian family spending nearly half its income on food alone. The quid-pro-quo situation initially derived from rivalry among the political elites and tactical decisions to barter with lower classes, including them in economic bounty in exchange for political support. Because this placation occurred before Egypt could fully develop its economy after years of colonial rule and due to the nature of the compromise from the breadth of Egypt’s elite infighting, Egypt never achieved a state of industrialization and advancement that similar countries experienced. Over time, this strong state presence became destructively symbiotic- the Egyptian citizenry succumbed to a dependency on these subsidies (below market rents, subsidized food staples and living necessities) and the government relied on this broad social support to maintain its leadership and secure its ability to exploit public assets for its own benefit (a kleptocracy). Within the last three decades, as resource depletion sharply has accelerated, the sustainability of this contract has become untenable: the government is functionally bankrupt and incapable of providing basic services while the population growth simultaneously has exploded. The chief orchestrators and beneficiaries of this relationship have been Egypt’s political elite, which for nearly all of the past seventy years, has been the military. A national security crisis has been inspired from this and, more importantly, iii mismanagement of its feeble economy by the self-interested, long-entrenched military. The magnitude of this interference is not perfectly known, but it is substantial and demonstrable. This economic fragility, and its concomitant political and security disarray, has implications beyond Egypt’s borders. There may be a way out if Egypt adopts a greater sense of urgency and musters the political will for reform. Increased economic prosperity and stability will cultivate political stability. Such success in economic transformation- and subsequent political stabilization- will enhance security prospects for the region and is, thus, in the interests of all major regional and global political actors. The purpose of this study is to diagnose and to examine the causes of Egyptian’s unsatisfactory economic development and to argue that these failings are the direct results from Egypt’s overreaching military, which has exploited the country’s assets for its own purposes. It will argue that Egypt’s deteriorating economic situation from military expropriation has catalyzed an economic crisis, with repercussions that extend beyond Egypt’s borders. It will consider realistic solutions within a framework or “playbook” of economic transformation that worked for other countries. Its scope of analysis will include political actors (including Egypt’s military) and macroeconomic variables in Egypt’s failings and parallels in states where the military has a pronounced and entrenched presence. iv Acknowledgements I wish to thank my Thesis Director, Dr Asher Orkaby, for his enthusiasm, his engagement, his exactitude and his enlightenment. I also wish to thank my Research Advisor, Dr Douglas Bond, for his guidance, support, perspective and patience. اريد ايضا ان اعبر عن تقديري ﻻلعزيز طارق ابو حسين، سيد عربي في هارفارد و صديقي العزيز .وقد علمتني جهوده الدؤوبة وتعليماته في دراستنا العربية أكثر من مجرد لغة .طارق، أنت روح حكيمة وأنا متحمس لنرى ما يحمل المستقبل بالنسبة لك v Dedication To Alasdair, Oliver and Xenophon and to my parents and Kathryn أعزائي اﻷسدير، أوليفر و زينوفون، أرجو أن تؤمنوا بأنفسكم وقيمة العمل الشاق. كونوا أسخياء و محبين و .صامدين في المثالية.أرجو أن تتذكروا كم نحبكم و أن تبقوا على مقربة من بعضكم بعضا .أبي لقد ضحيت كثيرا ﻷجلي .آمل أن أكون أبا لهؤﻻء اﻷوﻻد مثلما كنت لي Colin Hall and Dan Zambrano, I am grateful for your enduring friendship. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ v List of Figures ............................................................................................................... xi Literature Review- Primary Works .............................................................................. xv I. Introduction: A Framework for The Analysis of Egypt’s Military Kleptocracy .... 1 II. The Research Problem ............................................................................................ 3 III. Definition of Terms.............................................................................................. 13 General ..................................................................................................................... 13 Economic Metrics and Rationale for Inclusion ........................................................ 18 IV. Background of the Problem .............................................................................. 22 Commercial International Bank Case Study- “This Trade is Pretty Crazy” ............ 28 Egyptian National Security- The Economy as “Paramount, Essential, Urgent” ...... 32 V. Situation Overview – Egypt’s Macroeconomy .................................................... 37 VI. Origins of Egypt’s Military State- Comparative Political and Historical Frameworks.................................................................................................................. 45 Korea and the Asian Economic Experience ............................................................. 50 “The Vanguard of Progress”: Nasser and his Free Officers..................................... 63 Chapter Conclusion .................................................................................................. 68 VII. The Transformation of Egypt’s Relationship with its Military and The Aggrandizement of Military Power ............................................................................. 71 VIII. The Ascendency of Egypt’s Military Under Mubarak........................................ 76 The Crony Capitalists: Egypt’s Political Supernova ................................................ 81 vii Size Today ................................................................................................................ 84 Manpower................................................................................................................. 85 IX. Egypt’s Military Industrial Complex- Present Day ............................................... 88 Legal Framework and Implications.......................................................................... 92 X. Kleptocracy, Expropriation and Self-Dealing- Case Studies ................................ 102 Military Resistance and Retrenchment .................................................................. 102 Case Studies ........................................................................................................... 103 Case Study #1: The Suez Canal Corridor Development Project ........................ 103 Case Study #2: Toshka (New Valley Project) .................................................... 105 Case Study #3: Arabtec and Saudi- No Bid Infrastructure ................................. 107 Case Study #4: Tharwa Petroleum ..................................................................... 108 Case Study #5: Vodafone Egypt Share Transfer to the Mukhabarat .................. 109 Foreign Government Enablement of the Military Kleptocracy ............................. 110 XI. Why Egypt’s Military Authoritarianism Matters ................................................ 116 XII. The Enduring and Structural Implications of the Military Kleptocracy on Egypt’s Modern Economic Problems...................................................................................... 123 Seeds of Discontent ................................................................................................ 138 XIII. Solutions: Catalysts and Strategies for Coping and Reform ............................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • National Monitoring Program for Biodiversity and Non-Indigenous Species in Egypt
    UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM MEDITERRANEAN ACTION PLAN REGIONAL ACTIVITY CENTRE FOR SPECIALLY PROTECTED AREAS National monitoring program for biodiversity and non-indigenous species in Egypt PROF. MOUSTAFA M. FOUDA April 2017 1 Study required and financed by: Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat BP 337 1080 Tunis Cedex – Tunisie Responsible of the study: Mehdi Aissi, EcApMEDII Programme officer In charge of the study: Prof. Moustafa M. Fouda Mr. Mohamed Said Abdelwarith Mr. Mahmoud Fawzy Kamel Ministry of Environment, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) With the participation of: Name, qualification and original institution of all the participants in the study (field mission or participation of national institutions) 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS page Acknowledgements 4 Preamble 5 Chapter 1: Introduction 9 Chapter 2: Institutional and regulatory aspects 40 Chapter 3: Scientific Aspects 49 Chapter 4: Development of monitoring program 59 Chapter 5: Existing Monitoring Program in Egypt 91 1. Monitoring program for habitat mapping 103 2. Marine MAMMALS monitoring program 109 3. Marine Turtles Monitoring Program 115 4. Monitoring Program for Seabirds 118 5. Non-Indigenous Species Monitoring Program 123 Chapter 6: Implementation / Operational Plan 131 Selected References 133 Annexes 143 3 AKNOWLEGEMENTS We would like to thank RAC/ SPA and EU for providing financial and technical assistances to prepare this monitoring programme. The preparation of this programme was the result of several contacts and interviews with many stakeholders from Government, research institutions, NGOs and fishermen. The author would like to express thanks to all for their support. In addition; we would like to acknowledge all participants who attended the workshop and represented the following institutions: 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Bab I Pendahuluan
    BAB I PENDAHULUAN I.1. LATAR BELAKANG MASALAH Kawasan Pantai Utara Jakarta merupakan kawasan strategis bagi DKI Jakarta, baik sebagai ibukota provinsi sekaligus sebagai ibukota negara. Areal sepanjang pantai sekitar 32 km tersebut merupakan pintu gerbang dari arah laut, dengan berbagai aktivitas masyarakat dan pembangunan yang sangat beragam, termasuk objek-objek vital yang ada di kawasan tersebut. Oleh sebab itu hal yang wajar apabila, Pantai Utara Jakarta ditetapkan sebagai Kawasan Strategis Provinsi dan hal ini juga sesuai dengan Undang-Undang Nomor 26 tahun 2007 tentang Penataan Ruang (Pasal 10 Ayat 1) yang mengatur bahwa setiap provinsi berwenang untuk menetapkan Kawasan Strategis Provinsi maka berdasarkan RTRW Provinsi DKI Jakarta 2030, Pantai Utara Jakarta ditetapkan sebagai Kawasan Strategis Provinsi. Kawasan Pantai Utara (Pantura) pada awalnya dikategorikan sebagai Kawasan Andalan, yaitu kawasan yang mempunyai nilai strategis dipandang dari sudut pandang ekonomi dan perkembangan kota, berdasarkan Keppres Nomor 17 tahun 1994. Upaya untuk mewujudkan fungsi Kawasan Pantai Utara Jakarta sebagai Kawasan Andalan, dapat dilakukan melalui reklamasi pantai utara sekaligus menata ruang daratan pantai yang ada secara terarah dan terpadu, merupakan nomenklatur dari ditetapkannya Keppres Nomor 52 tahun 1995 tentang Reklamasi Pantai Utara Jakarta. Berdasarkan Peraturan Gubernur DKI Jakarta Nomor 121 Tahun 2012 Tentang Penataan Ruang Kawasan Reklamasi Pantai Utara Jakarta yang dikeluarkan oleh Gubernur pada saat itu adalah Gubernur Fauzi Bowo yaitu pada tanggal 19 September 2012 menjelaskan bahwa Proyek Reklamasi Pantai Utara Jakarta atau yang dikenal dengan Mega Proyek Giant Sea Wall merupakan proyek pembuatan 17 pulau di kawasan teluk Jakarta. Dalam Peraturan Gubernur tersebut juga tercantum rencana kependudukan, rencana 1 UPN "VETERAN" JAKARTA 2 sistem pengelolaan limbah, rencana sistem pembangkit listrik dan ketersediaan air bersih serta berbagai rencana sistem lainnya.
    [Show full text]
  • Omar-Ashour-English.Pdf
    CENTER ON DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPMENT, AND THE RULE OF LAW STANFORD UNIVERSITY BROOKINGS DOHA CENTER - STANFORD PROJECT ON ARAB TRANSITIONS PAPER SERIES Number 3, November 2012 FROM BAD COP TO GOOD COP: THE CHALLENGE OF SECURITY SECTOR REFORM IN EGYPT OMAR ASHOUR PROGRAM ON ARAB REFORM AND DEMOCRACY, CDDRL FROM BAD COP TO GOOD COP: THE CHALLENGE OF SECURITY SECTOR REFORM IN EGYPT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY gence within the police force of a cadre of reform- ist officers is also encouraging and may help shift Successful democratic transitions hinge on the the balance of power within the Ministry of Interi- establishment of effective civilian control of the or. These officers have established reformist orga- armed forces and internal security institutions. The nizations, such as the General Coalition of Police transformation of these institutions from instru- Officers and Officers But Honorable, and begun to ments of brutal repression and regime protection push for SSR themselves. The prospects for imple- to professional, regulated, national services – secu- menting these civil society and internal initiatives, rity sector reform (SSR) – is at the very center of however, remain uncertain; they focus on admira- this effort. In Egypt, as in other transitioning Arab ble ends but are less clear on the means of imple- states and prior cases of democratization, SSR is mentation. They also have to reckon with strong an acutely political process affected by an array of elements within the Ministry of Interior – “al-Ad- different actors and dynamics. In a contested and ly’s men” (in reference to Mubarak’s longstanding unstable post-revolutionary political sphere, the minister) – who remain firmly opposed to reform.
    [Show full text]
  • Arab Republic of Egypt
    Egypt Country Profile ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT OFFICE OF COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS, ROYAL THAI EMBASSY, CAIRO THAI TRADE CENTER 1 Thai Trade Center, Cairo ٍ Sherif Yehya Egypt Country Profile Background: The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty with the overthrow of the British- backed monarchy in 1952. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society.
    [Show full text]
  • Index Cards by Country RUSSIA
    Index cards by country RUSSIA SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES Index cards realized by the University of Reims, France Conception: F. Bost Data collected by F. Bost and D. Messaoudi Map and layout: S. Piantoni WFZO Index cards - Russia Year of promulgation of the first text Official Terms for Free Zones of law concerning the Free Zones Special economic zones (SEZ) 1988 Exact number of Free Zones Possibility to be established as Free Points 27 Special economic zones (include 8 in project) No TABLE OF CONTENTS Free Zones ..........................................................................................................................................4 General information ........................................................................................................................................................................4 List of operating Free Zones .........................................................................................................................................................6 Contacts ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 16 2 WFZO Index cards - Russia UNITED STATES Oslo Berlin Stockholm 22 27 Helsinki 12 05 Minsk 21 11 10 Kyiv 04 Moscow 15 Chisinau 08 25 01 14 26 24 06 02 Volgograd RUSSIA 03 Sverdlovsk Ufa 07 Chelyabinsk Omsk 13 Yerevan Astana Novosibirsk Baku 20 23 16 18 KAZAKHSTAN 17 Tehran Tashkent Ulaanbaatar Ashgabat 09 Bishkek IRAN MONGOLIA 19
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    1 Introduction Dennis Blair The second volume of Military Engagement relates the stories of how democratic civil-military relations developed in five world regions and fourteen individual countries. This introduction pro- vides some background on those who authored these stories and describes the patterns observed and the lessons that can be drawn from them. The Authors The regional summaries were written by a team of coauthors, almost all having both practical experience in armed forces or defense ministries of their countries and subsequent careers with security think tanks. They also contributed ideas and criticisms of the analysis and recommendations in the companion volume. Juan Emilio Cheyre, while chief of staff of the Chilean army, took the final steps to bring his service out of the Pinochet era. Matthew Rhodes is a professor at the Marshall Center in Germany, an insti- tution at the center of military-military relations among countries around the world. Istvan Gyarmati, who participated in the early brainstorming sessions for the handbook, was deputy defense minister of Hungary during the Hungarian armed forces’ transi- tion from its Warsaw Pact organization to meet NATO standards. Muthiah Alagappa, a general in the Malaysian Army, has become the foremost scholar of Asian civil-military relations subsequent to 1 01-2478-0 ch1.indd 1 5/16/13 6:03 PM 2 Dennis Blair his retirement. Tannous Mouawad served as Lebanon’s military attaché to the United States and the chief of Lebanon’s military intelligence service. Martin Rupiya was an officer in the Zimbabwean National Army and now heads a security affairs think tank in South Africa Each of the regional coauthors recruited additional authors to write the indi- vidual case studies; two of them wrote a case study as well.
    [Show full text]
  • Anesthesia and Pain Management in Traditional Iranian Medicine
    Pregledni rad Acta Med Hist Adriat 2016; 14(2);317-326 Review article ANESTHESIA AND PAIN MANAGEMENT IN TRADITIONAL IRANIAN MEDICINE ANESTEZIJA I UPRAVLJANJE BOLI U TRADICIONALNOJ IRANSKOJ MEDICINI Alireza Salehi, Faranak Alembizar, Ayda Hosseinkhani* Summary Studying the history of science could help develop an understanding of the contributions made by ancient nations towards scientific advances. Although Iranians had an import- ant impact on the improvement of science, the history of Iranian medicine seems not to have been given enough attention by historians. The present study focused on the history of anes- thesia and pain management in Iranian medical history. In this regard, related books such as Avesta and Shahnameh were studied in order to obtain the history of anesthesiology in Iranian pre Islamic era. This subject was also studied in the famous books of Rhazes, Haly Abbas, Avicenna, Jorjani, MomenTunekaboni and Aghili from different times of the Islamic era. Scientific data bases such as PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar were searched using key words “Iranian”, “Persian”, “pain management” and “anesthesia”. It was discovered that pain management and anesthesiology were well known to the Iranians. Rhazes and Avicenna had innovations in this regard. Fourteen Mokhader (anesthetic) herbs, which were included in the collection of the previous knowledge of the 18th century entitled Makhzan al-Advieyh and used as the Persian Materia Medica, were identified and listed. This study introduces the history of anesthesiology and pain management at different periods in the history of Iran. Key words: Anesthesiology; pain management; traditional Iranian medicine. * Research centre for traditional medicine and history of medicine, Shiraz University of medical sciences Shiraz, Iran.
    [Show full text]
  • Industrial Policy in Egypt 2004–2011
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Loewe, Markus Working Paper Industrial policy in Egypt 2004–2011 Discussion Paper, No. 13/2013 Provided in Cooperation with: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Bonn Suggested Citation: Loewe, Markus (2013) : Industrial policy in Egypt 2004–2011, Discussion Paper, No. 13/2013, ISBN 978-3-88985-616-6, Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Bonn This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/199399 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. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. www.econstor.eu Discussion Paper 13/2013 Industrial Policy in Egypt 2004–2011 Markus Loewe Industrial Policy in Egypt 2004–2011 Markus Loewe Bonn 2013 Discussion Paper / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik ISSN 1860-0441 The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.
    [Show full text]
  • Foreign Terrorist Organizations
    Order Code RL32223 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Foreign Terrorist Organizations February 6, 2004 Audrey Kurth Cronin Specialist in Terrorism Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Huda Aden, Adam Frost, and Benjamin Jones Research Associates Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress Foreign Terrorist Organizations Summary This report analyzes the status of many of the major foreign terrorist organizations that are a threat to the United States, placing special emphasis on issues of potential concern to Congress. The terrorist organizations included are those designated and listed by the Secretary of State as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations.” (For analysis of the operation and effectiveness of this list overall, see also The ‘FTO List’ and Congress: Sanctioning Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, CRS Report RL32120.) The designated terrorist groups described in this report are: Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Armed Islamic Group (GIA) ‘Asbat al-Ansar Aum Supreme Truth (Aum) Aum Shinrikyo, Aleph Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) Communist Party of Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA) Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group, IG) HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement) Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) Hizballah (Party of God) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) Jemaah Islamiya (JI) Al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad) Kahane Chai (Kach) Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK, KADEK) Lashkar-e-Tayyiba
    [Show full text]
  • The Grain Economy of Mamluk Egypt by Ira M. Lapidus
    THE GRAIN ECONOMY OF MAMLUK EGYPT BY IRA M. LAPIDUS (University of California, Berkeley) Scholarly studies of the economy of Egypt in the Middle Ages, from the Fatimid through the Mamluk periods, have stressed two seemingly contradictory themes. On the one hand, the extraordinary involvement of the state in economic affairs is manifest. At different times, and in various ways, the ruling regimes of Egypt monopolized or strictly controlled certain primary or strategic products. Wood and metals, both domestic and imported, were strictly controlled to assure the availability of military supplies. Certain export products like natron were sometimes made state monopolies. So too products of unusual commercial importance were exploited, especially by the Mamluk Sultans, to gain monetary advantages. Sugar production, often in the hands of rulers and oflicials, was also, on occasion, a state monopoly. At another level, the state participated in economic activity it did not monopolize. Either the governing bureaus themselves, or elite members of the regime, were responsible for irrigation and other investments essential to agricultural productivity. In the trading sphere, though state-sponsored trading expeditions are unknown, state support for trade by treaty arrangements, by military and diplomatic protection, and direct participation in the form of investments placed with mer- chants were characteristic activities. How much of the capital of trade was "booty" or political capital we shall never know. In other spheres, state participation gave way to state controls for the purposes of taxation. Regulation of the movements of merchants, or the distribution of goods, facilitated taxation. For religious or moral reasons state controls also extended to the supervision, regulation, or prohibition of certain illicit trades.
    [Show full text]
  • U.S.-Egyptian Relations Since the 2011 Revolution: the Limits of Leverage
    U.S.-Egyptian Relations Since the 2011 Revolution: The Limits of Leverage An Honors Thesis Submitted to the Department of Politics in partial fulfillment of the Honors Program by Benjamin Wolkov April 29, 2015 Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter 1. A History of U.S.-Egyptian Relations 7 Chapter 2. Foreign Policy Framework 33 Chapter 3. The Fall of Mubarak, the Rise of the SCAF 53 Chapter 4. Morsi’s Presidency 82 Chapter 5. Relations Under Sisi 115 Conclusion 145 Bibliography 160 1 Introduction Over the past several decades, the United States and Egypt have had a special relationship built around military cooperation and the pursuit of mutual interests in the Middle East. At one point, Egypt was the primary nemesis of American interests in the region as it sought to spread its own form of Arab socialism in cooperation with the Soviet Union. However, since President Anwar Sadat’s decision to sign the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty in 1979, Egypt has proven a bulwark of the United States interests it once opposed. Specifically, those interests are peace with Israel, the continued flow of oil, American control of the region, and stability within the Middle East. In addition to ensuring these interests, the special friendship has given the United States privileges with Egypt, including the use of Egyptian airspace, expedited transit through the Suez Canal for American warships, and the basing of an extraordinary rendition program on Egyptian territory. Noticeably, the United States has developed its relationship with Egypt on military grounds, concentrating on national security rather than issues such as the economy or human rights.
    [Show full text]
  • Ict Policy Review: National E-Commerce Strategy for Egypt United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
    UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT ICT POLICY REVIEW: NATIONAL E-COMMERCE STRATEGY FOR EGYPT UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT ICT POLICY REVIEW: NATIONAL E-COMMERCE STRATEGY FOR EGYPT New York and Geneva 2017 ii ICT POLICY REVIEW: NATIONAL E-COMMERCE STRATEGY FOR EGYPT © 2017, United Nations This work is available open access by complying with the Creative Commons licence created for intergovernmental organizations, available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States. The designation employed and the presentation of material on any map in this work do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Mention of any firm or licensed process does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations. Photocopies and reproductions of excerpts are allowed with proper credits. This publication has been edited externally. United Nations publication issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. UNCTAD/DTL/STICT/2017/3 NOTE iii NOTE Within the Division on Technology and Logistics of UNCTAD, the ICT Policy Section carries out policy-oriented analytical work on the development implications of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the digital economy, and is responsible for the biennial production of the Information Economy Report. The ICT Policy Section, among other things, promotes international dialogue on issues related to ICTs for development, such as e-commerce and entrepreneurship in the technology sector, and contributes to building developing countries’ capacities to design and implement relevant policies and programmes in these areas.
    [Show full text]