Essay: The never- ending struggle for a true Democracy ( 2nd version)

The never- ending struggle for a true Democracy

         Revolutions are prolonged and often unpredictable struggles to transform existing political, social and economic relationships, but also battles for power and control. They involve many different types of actors and methods of mass mobilization, and they go through different phases marked by momentous events. This aspect is particularly well illustrated by recent events in Egypt, where it seems that, after of years of struggle to achieve democracy, Egypt´s ability to democratize hangs in the balance.

        In order to illustrate this, it is necessary to highlight some of the more momentous events. The revolution can be said to have begun in January 2011, when President Hosni Murabak was overthrown in a popular revolt. After some months of chaos and uncertainty, elections were held and were won by the once outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Mohammed Morsi become Egypt´s first democratically elected leader with just under 52 % of the vote. 

       It appeared that Egypt’s revolution was over and that order and democracy had prevailed but, as was explained at the outset, revolutions are prolonged struggles, and this one still had some distance to run. The new government soon came to be seen as dishonest and corrupt. Liberal and activists accused Morsi and the Brotherhood of trying to monopolize power, and failing to implement social and economic reforms. At the same time, Egyptian people grew exhausted by unemployment, high levels of inflation and taxes, unstable international markets, and low wages. Moreover, they felt the Morsi government was betraying hopes for democracy. One observer, Hazem Kandil, an Egyptian political sociologist at Cambridge University said the people had begun to see the Muslim Brotherhood as 'a gang of killers who have been holding people hostage.'

        The unpredictable nature of revolutions, and the seemingly never- ending power struggles they set off, is revealed in what happened next. Seizing the opportunity that popular disenchantment with the government offered them, the military intervened and overthrew Morsi, replacing him with Adli Mansur.However, the chaos continued, this time involving massive protests by the Muslim Brotherhood. The authorities responded forcefully. On August 14^th the army moved brutally against the Muslim Brotherhood’s sit-ins, proclaiming a state of emergency and killing and arresting thousands, demonstrating the dark side of the Arab awakening. In addition, on September 23^rd, an Egyptian court issued an injunction dissolving and confiscating the Brotherhood’s assets. If confirmed, this action against a major political grouping would further reduce hopes of the new government fulfilling its promise to restart a democratic political process that would include Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters. In a statement issued from an office in London, out of reach of the Egyptian police, the Brotherhood called the outcome “an attack on democracy,” accusing the court of overstepping its authority and failing to allow the group to present a defense.

       This remarkable sequence of dramatic events seems to clearly demonstrate what was pointed out at the beginning. Egypt is undergoing a prolonged struggle for democracy, involving a series of battles for control and a large cast of actors. These include the military establishment, the masses that support the Muslim Brotherhood, and a large group of liberal and secular activists who are unhappy with both the military and the Islamists. The struggle to resolve this complex situation goes on.

Sources

BBC. Egypt: Back to a Generals' Republic?.Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12315833. 2013

Current Situation in Egypt. Retrieved from: http://middleeast.about.com/od/egypt/tp/Current-Situation-In-Egypt.htm

Egyptian-Crisis-In-2013.htm Egyptian Revolution of 2011.  Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Revolution_of_2011. Manfreda, P.  (2013). 

Furious Egyptians vent anger against western 'conspiracies. Retrieved from:  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/18/us-britain-israel-plotting-egypt. (2013)

What's Going On In Egypt: A Brief Explanation. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/14/whats-going-on-in. (2013)

Graphic organizer:

 

Outline:

 Introduction:

 Argumentative thesis statement:
(...) “after of years of struggle to achieve democracy Egypt´s ability to democratize hangs in the balance”.

Supplementary material:

1 Mubarak was overthrown in a popular revolt

2- Failure to implement social and economic reforms.

3 Suppression of the Brotherhood.

Conclusion

(...) Egypt is undergoing a prolonged struggle for democracy, involving a series of battles for control and a large cast of actors (…)The struggle to resolve this complex situation goes on.