Change In Egypt Research Articles

FAKTOR KONTINUITAS POLITIK LUAR NEGERI MESIR TERHADAP AMERIKA SERIKAT PASCA REVOLUSI 2011

Revolution happening in a country often impact on the country’s foreign political change. However, the revolution that occurred in Egypt in 2011, followed by the election of Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood as the first civilian president of Egypt, it did not change the foreign policy of Egypt, particularly against the United States. In that sense, Egypt is still continuing good relations with the United States as in the reign of Hosni Mubarak. This research aims to explain the factors that affect no change in Egypt’s foreign policy towards the United States after the revolution of 2011, especially in the era of Mohammad Mursi. In this study, the authors use the neoclassical realism theory which states that the foreign policy adopted by a country is the result of domestic political dynamics that are influenced by international structures. By using literature data collection, this study resulted in the finding that no change in the foreign policy of Egypt during the reign of Mohammad Mursi against the United States is affected by international structures which then impact on Egypt’s position which acts as a buffer state of peace in the Middle East.This in turn affects the occurrence of domestic political dynamics that make Mursi Egypt decided not to change Egypt’s foreign policy toward the United States.

PERAN IKHWANUL MUSLIMIN DALAM PERUBAHAN SOSIAL POLITIK DI MESIR

THE IKHWANUL MUSLIMIN’S ROLE IN SOCIOPOLITICAL CHANGE IN EGYPT. This research aims to know the position of the Ikhwanul Muslimin movement which grow and develop in Egypt. Trace the genealogy and the history of the Ikhwanul Muslimin, the concept and movement as well as the Ikhwanul Muslimin figures who influence on socio-political movement in Egypt. In addition to the position description of the Ikhwanul Muslimin, the study also tried to reveal the influence of the Ikhwanul Muslimin against the socio-political changes in the country of Kinanah. Since the founding of the Ikhwanul Muslimin, the political map in Egypt is entering a new chapter. The policy of leaders in power in Egypt is experiencing changes and ups and downs, related to its interaction with the Ikhwanul Muslimin. The interaction between Ikhwanul Muslimin and the Government of Egypt was mapped in two periods: pre-revolution and post-revolution. The Ikhwanul Muslimin and the Government of Egypt often tinged the existence of a conspiracy, suppression, which are then greeted with demonstration and competition power grab.

Turkey and the Arab Revolutions: Boundaries of Middle Power Influence in a Turbulent Region

The recent Turkish involvement in the Middle East constitutes an important test case for establishing the boundaries of middle power influence in a changing global context. The AKP government in Turkey has become a major supporter of political change and democratization in the era of the Arab revolutions. Accumulating empirical evidence suggests, however, that the highly assertive and pro-active foreign policy of the AKP government in recent years has not been effective in terms of facilitating reform or regime change in Syria or helping to influence the direction of political change in Egypt towards a durable pluralistic order. Indeed, the policy might have been counter-productive in terms of undermining Turkey’s image of a benign regional power, by drawing it to sectarian conflicts and over-engagement in the domestic politics of key Arab states. Turkey has the potential to play an important role model in the highly uncertain world of the Arab revolutions. Its ability to perform this role, however, requires an improvement in its own democratic credentials, rather than being excessively involved in the domestic politics of individual states.

Turkey and the Arab Revolutions: Boundaries of Regional Power Influence in a Turbulent Middle East

The recent Turkish involvement in the Middle East constitutes an important test case for establishing the boundaries of regional power influence in a changing global context. The AKP government in Turkey has become a major supporter of political change and democratization in the era of the Arab revolutions. Accumulating empirical evidence suggests, however, that the highly assertive and pro-active foreign policy of the AKP government in recent years has not been effective in terms of facilitating reform or regime change in Syria or helping to influence the direction of political change in Egypt towards a durable pluralistic order. Indeed, the policy might have been counter-productive in terms of undermining Turkey’s image of a benign regional power, by drawing it to sectarian conflicts and over-engagement in the domestic politics of key Arab states. Turkey has the potential to play an important role model in the highly uncertain world of the Arab revolutions. Its ability to perform this role, however, requires an improvement in its own democratic credentials, rather than being excessively involved in the domestic politics of individual states.

Egypt Demographic Trends and Socio-Economic Implications

The aim of this article is to examine the implications of demographic change in Egypt. This paper provides new grounds for research and applications in designing, developing, implementing and institutionalizing decision support and their use in socio-economic development. This work goes beyond both a theoretical expectation and empirical evidence that rapid population growth is one of the crucial problems that have hindered development efforts in the region; it carries serious implications for employment, access to services and the cost of subsidies. These could spell serious political consequences in what is already a politically unstable state. Population data for Egypt are extremely sensitive and need to be treated cautiously. Nonetheless, it is clear that Egypt since the 1970s has experienced a dramatic rise in population compared to other parts of the developing world. Despite the progress of economic reforms and structural adjustments program applied during the past years, Egypt is still suffering in the beginning of the twenty first century- from a slowdown in the economic activity, a shortage in foreign exchange earnings, structural imbalances in the labor market, a high rate of unemployment, and a growing government deficit. Rapid population growth in a country known for its scarcity of inhabitable land and fresh water could put an extraordinary strain on the environment and could turn it to an untenable population density.

Znaczenie Bractwa Muzułmańskiego w polityce Egiptu oraz w wydarzeniach Arabskiej Wiosny 2011 roku

This paper presents the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in 20th century Egyptian politics and analyzes its position and influence on the 2011 Arab Spring events. Since the establishment of the Brotherhood, in 1928, the Muslim Brothers have been connected with the Muslim trend of political thought defined as Islamism. From the beginning of the Brotherhood, the Brothers an Islamic ideology as the foundation of its socio-national program. They also used it for their political struggle. Till the end of the1940s, the Brotherhood, headed by its founder Hassan al-Banna, operated legally. After his death in 1949, the Brotherhood was forced to withdraw into deep conspiracy by the Egyptian government. This resulted in the radicalization of the Muslim Brothers’ doctrine, which in the 1950s became revolutionary and anti-Nasser in character. This took place while the Brotherhood was headed by one of the main ideologists of Islamic fundamentalism - S. Kutb. Though the Brotherhood was an underground organization during the administrations of A. Sadat and H. Mubarak, it left its mark on the internal politics of Egypt. In the 1980s it became the main opposition force in this country. The Muslim Brotherhood was surprised by the sudden outbreak of the social protest in Egypt in 2011 and initially, as an organization, it did not participate in this protest, supporting the idea of operating within the parliamentary opposition. However, when the Muslim Brotherhood saw a chance for political change in Egypt, it joined theanti-government protests and supported the basic demand of the protesters, i.e. the resignation of the Egyptian President H. Mubarak. Though the Muslim Brothers joined the Arab Spring’s events late, theyacquired very strong social support which made it possible for them to return to legal politics and finally to seize power in Egypt. However, two years of their rule in Egypt did not improve the socio-economic situation in this country, and the political actions of ex-president M. Mursi headed towards the introduction of dictatorship. This resulted in a coup d’etat organized by the Egyptian army in 2013, which caused the removal of the Muslim Brothers from power again.

Revolution 2.0 in Egypt: Pushing for Change, Foreign Influences on a Popular Revolt

This article presents a case study of a movement for democratic change in Egypt. In particular, it reviews the uses of social media that helped to facilitate the revolution that led to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak's regime in February 2011. It looks at the movement in Egypt and the uses of social media from the perspective of public diplomacy, particularly in the context of U.S. efforts to drive public opinion in the Middle East. It reviews how the groups and individuals considered instrumental in the events that led to Mubarak's resignation are connected to the actors in U.S. “democracy promotion.” The article further discusses how social media, by dint of its characteristics, conveniently lends itself to democracy promotion. It highlights the risks involved in an instrumental approach to democracy promotion that treats the tools of social media as means to effect immediate policy gains country by country.

Assessing the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation cover as an indicator of desertification in Egypt using multi-temporal MODIS satellite images

Desertification is the major environmental threat in the arid and semiarid regions. The soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) was used as an indicator to monitor the desertification change in Egypt. A multi-temporal satellite data of moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer were used to estimate SAVI and land surface temperature. Also, Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 and climatic data were used for the analysis. This research focuses on assessing the trend of the vegetation cover change in the seasons of January, March, June, September, and December for the years 2002, 2005, 2008, and 2011. The magnitude of the vegetation cover change in periods 2002–2005, 2005–2008, and 2008–2011 at ≤100 and >100 m elevation was analyzed. A major increase in the vegetation cover that occurred in the period 2002–2005 was about 3,400 km2, as a result of two national megaprojects (Toshka Project and El-Salam Canal). In contrast, vegetation cover decreased by 5,500 km2 in March during the period 2005–2008, coinciding with the period when the management of the megaprojects failed. Vegetation cover changed again by 1,500 km2 in the period of 2008–2011, and the vegetated areas in the Nile Delta were affected by the sea level rising which was responsible for the soil salinization. Three sites were chosen in this investigation (Kom Ombo, El-Oweinat, and Nile Delta) in order to observe the difference of desertification dynamics and to understand the relationship between the vegetation cover distribution and other environmental variables. Anti-desertification policies and advanced agricultural management are highly required in Egypt to decrease any environmental crises and food shortage.

Proposing mitigation strategies for reducing the impact of rice cultivation on climate change in Egypt

This research assesses different strategies for reducing methane emission from rice cultivation that might reduce climate change. The methane emission is calculated during the period from 1990 to 2010, based on the Egyptian National Greenhouse Gas Inventory of year 1990. Management of the produced rice straw is also covered to combat methane emission from burning rice residues in the field. The proposed mitigation strategies for methane emission from rice cultivation are water management, fertilizer management and short duration rice varieties. These mitigation strategies were assessed in terms of environmental sustainability impact using the Weighted Summation Method.Based on the multi-criteria evaluation, the best mitigation strategy for methane emission is the short duration rice variety which has the greatest utility or of the highest score. Meanwhile, fertilizer management strategy or switching from urea to ammonium sulfate fertilizer has the second highest score and followed by the midseason drainage strategy.The research results revealed that farmer acceptance or participation in applying different mitigation strategies is the cornerstone of this aspect. Meanwhile farmer awareness is essential for adaptation with climate change.

Islamic Civil Society Organizations as Actors of Change in Egypt and Jordan

Many people in MENA region perceive formal politics as illegitimate, corrupt and authoritarian. Thus, when searching for agents of change and reform, one has to look beyond the formal politics. In this vein, in the region there has been an increasing interest in civil society. Generally, academic interest as well as institutional interest tends to focus on secular organizations and overlooks religiously-based ones. Given the fact that, particularly in Muslim states of the region, Islamic civil society organizations make up a large part of civil society. Many Muslim social welfare organizations in the region engaged in activities such as education, health care and financial assistance to the poor. For example, in the cases of Egypt, Jordan and Turkey new variety of Muslim organizations has emerged to engage in voluntary social welfare activities, but in other ways than traditional welfare organizations. Besides providing traditional charitable services, they offer health and environment awareness campaigns and vocational training programs. In short, they assign Islam an important role without applying the language of political Islam. Instead, they view Islam as instrumental in helping the individual to become an active and useful citizen. In this regard, this article seeks answers to the question of whether these organisations can be considered potential agents of change or rather as preservers of the status quo. Do they employ Islam as a means of control or empowerment

The EU and Constitutionalism in Egypt: EU Foreign and Security Policy Challenges with a Special Focus on the Changing Political Setting in the MENA-region

The academic works on transition processes following the Arab revolts in the Middle East since the beginning of 2011 have so far mostly focused on the extraordinary character of the events which took place in Tunis, Cairo, Benghazi, etc. - attempting to explain the reasons for the in many ways surprising development in the region. This article analyses how strategic relations between the EU and Egypt are being challenged by constitutional changes in Egypt following the political development since early 2011. Initially the article describes European-Egyptian relations prior to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak by briefly going back to early contacts between the EEC and President Gamal Abdel Nasser and how more elaborate agreements developed up to recent times. Taking this historical point of departure the article characterizes the role of the EU in connection with the development since the start of the unrest in Egypt followed by an analysis of the European-Egyptian relationship over the last two years divided in three parts: Egypt and the ENP-UfM complex, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian political transformation process seen in a European perspective and finally the migration issue in the context of Egyptian-European relations. The article argues that the EU policies, which earlier have been dominated by a pragmatic approach towards the Mubarak regime, now have to be rethought considering an Egyptian polity, where the contours of a new constitutionalism are developing.

New Media Geographies and the Middle East

This special issue of Television & New Media brings together current research on media technologies, society, and culture in the Middle East from diverse methodological and analytical perspectives. The topics addressed cover a wide spectrum: circulation of Arab music videos and public discourse; Lebanese bloggers and mediated public spheres; transnational television audiences and ontological security; social media, TV talk shows, and political change in Egypt; youth-generated Arab media and cultural politics; and the Arab Spring as an ephemeral communicative space. Together, the articles provide a panorama of how today’s multimodal media geographies and engaged actors reinscribe public cultures and politics in the Middle East.

Children In the Garden of Democracy: The Meaning of Civic Engagement in Today’s Egypt

This is the second in a series of reports on the current wave of youth civic engagement in Egypt. Our goal is to offer an on-the-ground account of the unfolding political changes in Egypt from the perspective a small group of young activists from Cairo and Alexandria. Our first report was based on interviews with these youth who described their involvement in the demonstrations of early 2011 that led to the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. We viewed their comments in terms of a social-movement approach to civic engagement. These young people spelled out their grievances against Mubarak’s government, the ideological outlook they shared on political reform, the opportunities that enabled their actions, and the organizational apparatus that made this momentous event possible (Barber & Youniss, 2012). This paper is a reflective analysis of questions that have emerged in our research. We continued to interview these same youth activists over the past year and correlated their evolving views first with our further exploration of Egypt’s complex political situation and second with our knowledge of recent social scientific thought regarding civic engagement among youth. This triangulation leads us to consider three kinds of questions: 1) how to assess civic engagement adequately in a population of youth that lived under politically restrictive conditions; 2) how new definitions of active Egyptian citizenship are emerging; and 3) what these new definitions imply for engagement in the future.

Impact of biomass in Egypt on climate change

Egypt is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change due to the expected detrimental impacts on coastal zones, agriculture, water security as well as indirect social and health impacts. Egypt is responsible for 0.57% of the global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although Egypt is a non-annex I country not requiring any specific emission reduction or limitation targets under the Kyoto protocol, its National plans have included mitigation measures to reduce its greenhouse gases. The main sectors contributing to climate change in Egypt are energy, industry, agriculture and waste. Waste, on the other hand, has been accumulating in the streets of Egypt and along its water banks causing considerable air, soil and water pollution and indirect detrimental health impacts. However, this waste which is composed of organic municipal waste, agricultural residues, agro-industrial waste, animal manure and sewage sludge are valuable biomass resources. Utilizing the waste resources of Egypt especially the biomass or the organic component of this waste will not only solve some of the pressing economic needs of Egypt such as animal fodder, fertilizer and fuel but will also alleviate environmental burdens through decreasing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the sector of waste as well as those of energy, industry and agriculture. This paper quantifies the biomass resources in Egypt generated from different waste resources. Then it demonstrates the efforts that Egypt made to contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions reductions through the Kyoto Protocol’s clean development mechanism (CDM). The projects in the waste sector already established in Egypt and approved as CDM projects are listed, which are related to waste management facilities and those which are waste to energy projects. Finally, a list of mitigation projects as proposed by the Egyptian government to decrease GHGs as related to the waste sector are enumerated.

Migration and family change in Egypt: a comparative approach to social remittances

Based on two ethnographical studies, our article explores social remittances from France and from the Gulf States, i.e. the way Egyptian migrants and returnees contribute to social change in their homeland with a focus on gender ideals and practices, as well as on the ways families cope with departure, absence and return. Policies in the home and host countries, public discourse, translocal networks, and individual locations within evolving structures of power, set the frame for an analysis of the consequences of migration in Egypt. This combination of structural factors is necessary to grasp the complex negotiations of family and gender norms, as asserted through idealized models, or enacted in daily practices in immigration and back home.

The New Egypt: Socio-political Dynamics and the Prospects of the Transition to Democracy

The February 11, 2011 victory of pro-democracy forces has ushered in great hopes for actual political and social changes in Egypt. The military-led long authoritarian rule has come to an end, and Egypt has stepped in a new era of transition to democracy. This paper probes the prospects of democratic transformation in Egypt in light of its unique pre and post-revolutionary social and political dynamics. It argues that Egypt’s transition to democracy largely depends on the chemistry of post-revolutionary socio-political dynamics and how this dynamics keeps unfolding. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n4p137

Fortifying baladi Bread in Egypt: Reaching More than 50 Million People through the Subsidy Program

Micronutrient deficiencies, especially iron-deficiency anemia, are a public health problem in Egypt, where anemia rates almost doubled in the years from 2000 to 2005. In 2008, the Government of Egypt began implementation of a 5-year national program to fortify with iron and folic acid the wheat flour used in baking subsidized baladi bread, the staple food consumed by a majority of low- income groups. To project the achievements of this national Wheat Flour Fortification Program. This paper describes the program, estimates the production of fortified flour and consumption of fortified bread, and identifies program challenges and sustainability issues. Through the national Wheat Flour Fortification Program, ferrous sulfate and folic acid are now added to all wheat flour produced under the national Food Subsidy Program. Up to 50 million Egyptians nationwide are now consuming quality-assured fortified baladi bread on a daily basis. In 2011, 6.5 million MT of fortified wheat flour was produced by 143 participating public- and private-sector mills. Political changes in Egypt in 2011 did not seem to affect the program; the new leadership in the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade remains committed to fortification of wheat flour. The daily intake of approximately 12 mg of iron and 600 microg of folic acid through the consumption of baladi bread suggests that the impact of the program on the prevention and reduction of iron and folate deficiencies among the Egyptian population could be significant; the results of an end-line survey are pending.

Social Media, Television Talk Shows, and Political Change in Egypt

At least two pivotal moments in Egypt’s 2011 uprising took place on talk shows on the country’s private satellite television channels. In seeking to understand how these shows evolved, under authoritarian rule, to the point where they could host such moments, this article explores the impact of online media on their evolution. Taking account of studies into online–offline media interaction in democratic and nondemocratic settings, the research traces processes behind the rise of oppositional talk on Egyptian television during three consecutive periods. It finds that these had as much to do with particularities of national politics and economics as with transnational digital networks. Indeed, it was the restrictions on mainstream media that pushed political communication online, which validates Kraidy’s theory of hypermedia space, where multiple points of access to digital media are seen to facilitate contestation of the status quo. Yet, unequal offline power relations continue to shape these access points.

Pastophoria and Altars: Interaction in Ethiopian Liturgy and Church Architecture

FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHS BELONGING TO THE ARTICLE SEE SUPPLEMENTARY FILES > There are three parts to the interior space of ancient Ethiopian churches: a sanctuary (Mäqdäs) which is expanded into the “Holy Place” (Qǝddǝst) and the place of the assembly (Qǝne maḥlet). Four rooms stand at the corners of a cross-in-square interior: two service rooms on either side of a narthex-like entrance-room, westwards and, more important for the present discussion, two eastern service rooms which flank the sanctuary. These are called the pastophoria. After early input from Syria-Palestine, the Ethiopian basilicas took on an Aksumite character. Their development continued in a loose relationship with changes on the Egyptian scene, notably with a double phenomenon: the evolution of the rite and place of preparation of the bread and wine for Mass (the prothesis), and the demand for more altars at a time when churches could not be multiplied in Egypt. A study of architectural changes in the churches, alongside a comparison of liturgical practices and clues found in iconography and Coptic and Syriac literature, can bear witness to how the liturgy of the Ethiopian Church developed. Such investigation is all the more important because the absence of written documentation until the 13th century has left the church buildings as almost the only evidence available for study. The present study concentrates on the evolution and eventual disappearance of the pastophoria. The nature and location of the altars provides further evidence for dating. It should be noted that Ethiopia does not entirely abide by the Coptic models, essentially because what provoked change in Egypt did not exist in Ethiopia. Many questions still remain to be answered, including: When and where did the large monolithic altar of the permanent Coptic altar type first appear? Why are the West-Syriac and Ethiopian Churches today the only ones to celebrate Mass in a synchronized manner? We hope to address these and other questions at a later date.

Implicit Taxation of Agriculture: The Cause of Development Failure in Egypt

: Egypt has been unable to sustain rapid economic growth in the past, nor has it been able to generate employment opportunities at a fast enough rate to keep unemployment from rising. It will be argued in this paper that this has been the result of significant implicit taxation of the agricultural sector. The latter has slowed the structural transformation of the Egyptian economy, increased the capital intensity of production in the urban sector, and slowed overall economic growth. The Egyptian experience is contrasted with that of South Korea and Taiwan. The results indicate that indeed structural change in Egypt has been slowed by the implicit taxation of agriculture.