Egyptian Political System

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The Egyptian Political System: Authoritarian or democratically bound? Prologue The Egyptian Political system refers to the rules, regulations that dictate the politicization process within the country. The political structure and fundamental laws institute the relationship between the state and society. The Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt, adopted in 1971 declares Egypt a republic state adopting a democratic system. However, according to the democracy index 2010, Egypt ranks 138 out of 167 internationally in the list of most democratic regimes; somewhere close to the end. Authoritarian Regimes Authoritarian regimes are defined by having a concentration of power, and accordingly cannot bear with competitors to power. However, unlike totalitarianism, authoritarian regimes lack the ideology and advancement needed to disintegrate potential outcasts or even to create new rivals under government control. Consequently it faces just about an impossible predicament in trying to modernize society, lacking the organizational arsenal needed to mobilize society or even have society conform to a modernizing design. It is bound to be incompetent and it cannot develop its power much beyond a conventional bureaucracy. This makes the state either bound to make compromises with existing social forces which confront the design or it must fight them and jeopardize losing more sustainability than its coercive capabilities can tolerate. This essay analyzes the political structure of Egyptian modern History, proclaiming the current authoritarian structure, as well as portraying the possibilities of a political reform in the future. Nasser and Sadat’s Egypt The Modern Egyptian state is a historical product developed through the political culture and ideologies of its founding leaders. Since Ancient times, Egypt has been governed by powerful
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