Political Turmoil in Egypt: Its Implications for the Region and India

Abstract

The self-immolation of a vendor in December 2010 in a Tunisian town spurred a massive scale of uprising, inspiring the Arab youth to carve out a new Arab for them which was marred by decades-old political and cultural stagnation. The sentiments emerging on the streets following the chain of revolutions in different parts of the Arab world had promised not only a different Arab but had hoped for foundation of new democratic Arab which until now was a mirage. But what followed later dashed all the hopes on the Arab streets and each country opted for a different trajectory which promised everything but the democracy. Except Tunisia, other revolution-infested countries veered to neo- authoritarianism like Egypt, while Libya and Yemen have been witnessing highest order of faction fighting and Syria is in midst of full-scale civil war. In the backdrop of present scenario, today’s Arab land is marred by complete instability, chaos and political anarchy. The cause of the present instability may be attributed to the different political and strategic context of each respective country. Egypt has taken a complete U-turn after army again came at the helm of the affairs after ousting a democratically elected Islamist government. This article aims to explore the lineage of the Arab Spring in Egypt and how it unfolded in the span of two-three years. The study would also explore the lurching security scenario in Egypt and how it would impact the regional security architecture in the near future. This article also aims to highlight the long term implications of unfolding political developments in Egypt on the entire region and India as well.