The Arab Spring and the Democratic Dynamics in Egypt
Abstract:
The year 2011 saw an unprecedented yet dramatic change in the political landscape of Africa. There were protests and demonstrations aimed at overrunning the long seated autocrats in countries in the North Africa sub-region like Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. The major demands of the people included greater political freedom, respect for human rights, increased economic opportunities, improved standards of living, an end to corruption and other forms of decadences in the society. In Egypt, the Arab Spring brought an end to the three decades of rule under the leadership of Mubarak within a-18 day peaceful uprising leaving a mixture of hopes and fears for the future. The locus of this work points towards the fact that the contradictions within the system was beyond the economic anomalies to encompass the quest for political participation. Descriptive method was used for data analysis. The study indicates the role of the civil society in carrying out a revolution. This research carried out a study on the causes of the revolution in Egypt, examined the nature of the revolution and the extent to which the revolution has led to the democratization of Egypt. However, the findings of the study revealed that there are forces within the Egyptian society like the elites and their military counterparts, Islamic folks, the populace as well as external pressures that are counterbalancing one another. It therefore submits that the end result of the Arab Spring in Egypt might either be an absolute autocratic regime as it was in the pass, a semi authoritarian one, a democratic government or an Islamised democracy depending on the weight or impact each of the force can pull or have in this post Mubarak transition phase. This study recommended that a culture of respect for the constitution and deepen democratic values should be imbibed by Egyptians, the realities that suffocate the democratic life like the Emergency Law in Egypt should be done away with. There should be openness and transparency among the three tiers of government as well as the decentralization of the powers of the President. Also, the civil society needs to remain vibrant in order continually mount pressure on the ruling party for democratic ideals.ORDER COMPLETE MATERIAL (CHAPTER 1-5)
