Egypt: Arab Spring, Regime Crisis and the Proliferation of Small Arms

Abstract

The Arab Spring which expressed itself in January 2011 has far-reaching implications for the sociopolitical order in several countries of the Maghreb region including Egypt. The Arab spring fundamentally altered the political map of the country, and shattered an authoritarian order that had held the country under its spell for over sixty years. Egyptian society had for the greater part of her post-independence life, remained under authoritarian rule until the Arab Spring had liquidated the foundation of unrepresentative government in 2011. Egypt had existed between 1922 and 1952 as a constitutional monarchy. When Gamal Abdel Nasser took over power in 1952 through a carefully staged coup against King Farouk, he changed from monarchy to a republic even as Egypt remained under authoritarian rule. Authoritarianism continued to be the core defining characteristic of the Egyptian political system until 11 February 2011 when the authoritarian system was overthrown through popular uprisings. The chapter analyses the nexus between Arab Spring and regime crisis in Egypt and how this in turn fuelled small arms and light weapons proliferation in the country. The chapter reveals that the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Egypt is a direct fall out of the interplay between the phenomena of Arab Spring and regime crisis.