Democracy in Egypt

After reading a wide range of articles and analysis on the current situation in Egypt I realized that there has been no decisive judgment for what Egypt is headed for and what is going to be the outcome of this whole diaspora.

The ample speculations range from-

    -If Egypt will end up becoming a more radical Islamic state under the Muslim Brotherhood or

    -If Egypt may have a rough democracy with illiberal connotations or 

   - If the military be able to stabilize socio-political unrest and bring about a smooth transition … so  on n so forth.

And then I stumbled upon the various surveys conducted by Pew research Centre Global attitudes Project which conducted surveys in the Muslim countries. The discoveries made by which are quite unforeseen.

·         - The Pew researchers in a survey- ‘the role of Islam in politics and society‘ found that 84 percent of Egyptians favor the death penalty for people who leave Muslim religion.

·         -Another Pew survey finds that 90 percent of Egyptians say they believe in freedom of religion.

·         -Pew also found that a majority of Egyptians think democracy with protections of free speech and assembly is “preferable to any other kind of government”.

·       -  The Pew survey found wide streams of opinion in Egypt that seem at the very least inhospitable to democracy. When asked which side they would take in a struggle between "groups who want to modernize the country [and] Islamic fundamentalists," 59 percent of Egyptians picked the fundamentalists, while 27 percent picked the modernizers.

·         -In a country in which the army will likely play a deciding role in selecting the next political leadership, just 32 percent believe in civilian control of the military.

·-         And a majority, 54 percent, supports making segregation of men and women in the workplace the law throughout Egypt.

·        - When asked whether suicide bombing can ever be justified, 54 percent said yes (although most believe such occasions are "rare.")

·         -Eighty-two percent supported stoning for those who commit adultery.

·        - And yet at the same time, says Richard Wike, associate director of Pew's Global Attitudes Project, "We found support for some specific features of democracy -- free media, civil liberties, an independent judiciary." Indeed, 80 percent of Egyptians place a high value on free speech, 88 percent on an impartial judiciary and 75 percent on "media free from government censorship."

·        -The Pew 2010 report found that 82 percent of Egyptians hold an unfavorable view of the United States. That's higher than in Pakistan, higher than in Jordan, higher than 18 other nations Pew surveyed. And it is higher than the 72 percent of Egyptians who have an unfavorable view of al Qaeda.

·      -Egyptian opinion of the United States improved briefly in 2009, when Barack Obama became president, but it fell significantly in 2010. Muslim opinion of Obama, who made outreach to Muslims a top priority and traveled to Cairo in June 2009 to address the Islamic world, has also dropped.

It is certainly difficult to explain the coexistence of contrasting attitudes and therefore even more difficult to analyze what will happen next. As far as I can see, the situation in Egypt is headed for an illiberal democratic system.

Usually, In a Democracy, What we conveniently overlook is its ethos. For a democratic polity to function smoothly, requires a democratic fabric deep within. Here the concept of equality- economic, political and most importantly social plays a crucial role. The economic and socio-cultural aspects have to change a great deal in order make democracy a success. A conservative and rigid social existence cannot result into a healthy and flourishing democracy it can only mock it.

Machiavelli once said “we should esteem a man who is liberal, not a man who decides to be so.” This probably means that there is a philosophical difference between a man who has liberal values innate within himself and another who might as well resolve to be so but cannot go beyond pretence. In this context the difference lies in how one perceives democracy and liberal values. Is the call for freedom limited only to the economic disparity between elites and masses; unemployment and corruption or is it speaking of the western concept liberty and equality (Lock, Rousseau, Hobbes school of thought)?

Therefore, I believe the Egyptian revolution lacks ideas & ideology. It is a mass uprising, for a cause but the cause remains highly undefined in many areas. The very essential issue in the Arab world is of equality, women’s empowerment, gender equality, gender justice, economic disparity and freedom of thought and expression, these questions are still not seen to be discussed. And hence the democracy in Egypt will depend on the merit of its constitution and the constitutionalism that it aims to follow.  If this is the case with one of the most liberal states(Egypt)  in the middle east there is very little expected from the others who are following Egypt’s lead.

Thus the uprisings, sprouting all over Middle East, although very significant lack ‘thought’ as of now. One can only hope that this uprising takes the form of a movement and further leads to addressing the more deep-rooted questions and issues in the Arab society.

Egypt – what next?

When people’s aspirations are neglected and economic disparities become intolerable revolutions are bound to take place. But the current situation in the Middle East is constantly bringing me back to the thought as to – “what exactly constitutes a revolution?”

Revolution v/s Uprising

Both these terms may be synonymous to a lay man but in the case of Middle East they have to be distinguished conceptually from one another. A revolution is essentially known as a change in ideas and value system, i.e. a complete transformation. Where as an uprising is a revolt that symbolizes discomfort and may bring about certain level of change but may not be a transformation of any sort. The huge uprising in Egypt therefore, I believe, is still in the process of becoming a complete revolution. Overthrowing the president who ruled the country for almost three decades is certainly a commendable aspect of this uprising but the question remains-“what next?”

Just a mere change of power is not a revolution; a change in the value system is what constitutes one. The Egyptian socio-political scenario right now is confronting many questions at one go –

•             Leadership and democracy,
•              US influence
•               Muslim Brotherhood and the opposition

The US influence and the role of Muslim Brotherhood will play an important role in the coming days. It is a classic example of conflict of interests within and without, with the US supporting democratic movement and the opposition party of Egypt (Muslim Brotherhood) trying to realize its long awaited dream of an Islamic government. The trick to resolve this hitch lies in the hands of the leadership (which is yet to emerge). The school of thought that the leadership belongs to may give a definite direction to the movement.  Thus, I believe with regard to any revolution, the values the society evolves & resolves to follow is what shapes the constitution and leads to constitutionalism of the state.

Here I remember my Professor Dr. Yashwant Sumant’s (HOD Department of Politics, Pune University) lecture on Constitutionalism –“any polity is defined by its constitution. The constitution and the system of governance adopted by it define the role of individual within the polity. Thus the relationship between one individual and another, between individual and groups; and between individual and the state is defined by the constitution.”

In the case of Egypt and many other Middle Eastern states the revolutions seem to be stuck up with the overthrowing of the current heads of state, very little can be gauged about the society or people’s ideas on liberty, equality and gender justice. Only time shall tell the tale!