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Monopolizing Power in Egypt

(Foreign Policy) Michael Wahid Hanna - During the course of transition after Mubarak's fall, the ambitions of the military leadership expanded to include a constitutionally enshrined custodial role that would have placed the military establishment beyond scrutiny and enabled it to intervene in the political process. While the military will continue to enjoy extensive privileges and exercise considerable political power, the maximalist designs of the military leadership have now been foreclosed, absent a coup. These are salutary and necessary developments for the establishment of a democratic, civilian-led political order. But this should not provide cover for a new iteration of the power grabs that have distorted modern Egyptian political life. Even overlooking the extralegal nature of President Morsi's actions as the only available means to take on the extralegal political and legal framework erected by the SCAF, there is simply no excuse for constructing a parallel system of unchecked authority. The writer is a fellow at The Century Foundation.
2012-08-17 00:00:00
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