Egypt: A Fragile Power

245 Pages·2021·7.119 MB·English

by  Eberhard Kienle

EGYPT
Focusing on authoritarian rule, unresolved economic challenges, and external
dependency, the volume explains the salient political and economic features of
contemporary Egypt against the backdrop of its history since the beginning of the
19th century. Presenting a comprehensive account of developments, it challenges
common assumptions about secularists, Islamists, and revolutionaries, as well as
‘modernization’, ‘economic reform’, and political stability.
Discussing domestic politics, economic change, and external relations since 1945,
the author argues that Egypt continued to draw a degree of strength from sustained
state-building activities, which its pre-colonial rulers could pursue in a favourable
international environment and the partly related emergence of the country as a
focal point of collective identity. More consolidated than many other states in the
global south, Arab and non-Arab alike, independent Egypt, despite changing eco-
nomic strategies, remained a (lower) middle-income country and despite repeated
political contestation, most recently in the Arab Spring, continued to suffer from
autocratic rule. Such continuity reflects not only the interplay between political
forces at home, dominated by the military, and inconclusive economic policies but
also the external constraints under which governments and other actors in the
global south have to act.
Based on numerous primary and secondary sources in various languages, includ-
ing Arabic, and years of fieldwork, the book is a key resource for scholars of all levels,
journalists, policymakers, and diplomats interested in comparative politics and the
political economy of the Middle East and Egypt.
Eberhard Kienle is a research professor at the Centre national de la recherche scien-
tifique (CNRS) and teaches politics at SciencesPo Paris. In various capacities, he
lived and worked some eight years in Cairo. His publications include Ba’th versus
Ba’th: The Conflict between Syria and Iraq, 1968–1989 (1990) and A Grand Delusion:
Democracy and Economic Reform in Egypt (2001). With Nadine Sika, he co-edited The
Arab Uprisings: Transforming and Challenging State Power (2015).
The Contemporary Middle East
Edited by
Professor Anoushiravan Ehteshami
Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Durham, United Kingdom
For well over a century now, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries
have formed a central plank of the international system. The Contemporary
Middle East Series provides the first systematic attempt at studying the key actors
of this dynamic, complex, and strategically important region. Using an innovative
common format – which in each case study provides an easily digestible analysis
of the origins of the state, its contemporary politics, economics, and international
relations – prominent Middle East experts have been brought together to write
definitive studies of the MENA region’s key countries.
Morocco
Challenges to Tradition and Modernity 2nd edition
James N. Sater
Tunisia
From Stability to Revolution in the Maghreb 2nd edition
Christopher Alexander
The United Arab Emirates
Power, Politics and Policymaking
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
Iran
Stuck in Transition
Anoushiravan Ehteshami
Israel
Ilan Pappé
Afghanistan
Politics and Economics in a Globalising State
Niamatullah Ibrahimi and William Maley
Egypt
A Fragile Power
Eberhard Kienle
For more information about this series, please visit:
https://www.routledge.com/The-Contemporary-Middle-East/book-series/CME
EGYPT
A Fragile Power
Eberhard Kienle
First published 2022
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Eberhard Kienle
The right of Eberhard Kienle to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent
to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kienle, Eberhard, author.
Title: Egypt: a fragile power / Eberhard Kienle.
Other titles: Contemporary Middle East (Routledge (Firm))
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2021. | Series:
Contemporary Middle East | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021023621 (print) | LCCN 2021023622 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781138339163 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138339170 (paperback) |
ISBN 9780429441233 (ebook) | ISBN 9780429805417 (adobe pdf) | ISBN
9780429805400 (epub) | ISBN 9780429805394 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Egypt--Politics and government--20th century. | Egypt--
Politics and government--21st century. | Egypt--Economic conditions--1952- |
Egypt--Foreign relations--1952- | Egypt--History.
Classification: LCC DT107.827 .K54 2021 (print) | LCC DT107.827 (ebook) |
DDC 962.05--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021023621
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021023622
ISBN: 978-1-138-33916-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-33917-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-44123-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9780429441233
Typeset in Bembo
by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Maps vi
List of abbreviations ix
Chronology xi
Charts xv
Introduction 1
1 The formation of contemporary Egypt 19
2 Political change 39
3 Economic policies and developments 96
4 External relations 146
Conclusion 190
Bibliography 195
Index 217
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AL Arab League
AMIO Arab Military Armaments Organization
ARE Arab Republic of Egypt
ARF Arab Revolutionary Front
ASU Arab Socialist Union
AU African Union
AUC American University in Cairo
b/d barrels per day
CAPMAS Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics
CD Chamber of Deputies
CEDEJ Centre d’études et de documentation économiques, juridiques et
sociales
CENTO Central Treaty Organization
CERI Centre d’études internationales
CNRS Centre national de la recherche scientifique
EO Economic Organization
FAR Federation of Arab Republics
FDI Foreign direct investment
FEP Free Egyptians Party
FF Ford Foundation
FJP Freedom and Justice Party
FLN Front de Libération Nationale
FM Foreign Minister
FNP Future of the Nation Party
GA General Assembly (of the United Nations)
GCC Gulf Cooperation Council
GDP Gross Domestic Product