Conclusion: The Impact of Campaigns’ Professionalism on the Democratisation Process in Egypt

Abstract

This book indicates the levels of professionalism adopted by the candidates in the 2012 presidential elections in Egypt may have impacted upon the outcome. Previous chapters explained how the readiness of both Morsi and Shafiq to adopt some ‘professionalised’ techniques was behind their success in the first round of elections, with Morsi’s campaign proving to be the most ‘professional’, helping him in securing his path towards Egypt’s presidency, to be the first elected president after the 25 January Revolution and the first elected president in a very unpredictable first multi-candidate election in Egyptian history. This chapter aims to conclude the study by discussing the implications of the levels of campaign professionalism on the democratisation process in Egypt. The chapter concludes that professionalism—as applied by Morsi’s campaign—had a negative impact on Egypt’s democratic transition in general, as it led Egypt to be stuck in its transitional period, rather than moving to a functional emerging thin democracy. The chapter argues that this was mainly due to Morsi’s performance once elected. The chapter also provides an evaluation of the application of the professionalisation index in order to understand campaigns in nascent democracies.