This book focuses on Civil-Military Relations (CMR) in Egypt, a country that witnessed uprisings calling for democratic change in January 2011, which led to the ousting of Hosni Mubarak from the Presidency, the suspension of the constitution, and the dissolution of the parliament as well as the ruling of the National Democratic Party (NDP). Ironically, revolutionary forces in Egypt were dependent on the Egyptian military in taking these steps, with the military ultimately taking power some 30 months later.
This work is guided by a number of questions, the foremost being “what strategies might help Egypt’s civilians keep the military at bay?” In order to address this guiding question, further sub questions need to be answered regarding factors governing CMR in Turkey and Egypt, and the military’s stance on civil-Islamist competition in these countries. Specifically, these sub questions are “Why is the Egyptian army once again at the forefront of the country’s political scene only one year after the SCAF delivered authority to an elected president?” and “How, in general terms, might Egypt benefit from the Turkish experience, the latter having made considerable progress along the lengthy pathway to civilian control?
The views represented in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arab Reform Initiative, its staff, or its board.