Military and State in Egypt

One can argue that there are three main turning points in the recent history of Egypt that shaped the relation between the military, the state and the society. Firstly, the 1952 revolution (or coup depending on where you stand) when the Military ousted the king and abolished the multiparty political system. Second the peace treaty with Israel, which ushered in a new era for the army. An era where the war has become less demanded and economy has started to be more attractive. Third, the rule that the army played during the January 25 revolution in Egypt where the army presence has become more explicit and reached its peak with installing Al-Sissi as president. The 1952 revolution gave the military not only a type of revolutionary legitimacy, but also the right to claim very exclusive rights of the country. In fact, the regional and international circumstances back then has helped the Army to as the high strides voices of independence and the battle of development were resonated throughout the third world. The war against Israel was also a crucial factor to consolidate the army grip over the power in Egypt, though the defeat in 1697 casted heavy shadows of doubts about those exclusive rights. Then the victory of 1973 restored part of it but definitely not all of it. After the peace treaty with Israel, it was expected that the army would gradually withdraw from political life in Egypt, especially after President Sadat started a very cautious multiparty system as a base of nascent democracy. However, the assassination of Sadat on the hands of Isalmist army officers and ascending of Mubarak to power, gave the army the opportunity to play more active role in the economy. The argument is simple; with peace with Israel, the army can use its capabilities in the developments projects. Mubarak also started to give the military officers who retired in their forties some middle but sensitive positions in the bureaucratic apparatus of the government. In contrast to what many people think Mubarak through his 30 years in office was the only president who had very few military generals in the cabinet. I can say with little doubts that during Sadat and Mubarak reigns (though both of them military themselves), the army remained important and present but not as flagrant as during Nasser’s or nowadays. Actually, the January 25 uprising has helped bringing the army to power in an explicit and may be violent way. Due to the pseudo-democracy that Mubarak has shepherded through his autocratic rule where no real political powers evolved, when he stepped down, the army and the Muslim Brotherhood were the only two (political) powers in Egypt. What we are seeing now is ongoing battle between the future and the past. Those who want to go back to the sixties and those who want to get their first step in the twenty first century.