January 28th, 2011 by Naureen

Writing in Foreign Policy, Yasser El-Shimy states that the social contract that former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser formed with Egyptians–to liberate Arab lands from colonial powers, food stables, and guarantees of employment for university graduates–has been unraveling over the last three decades and that Hosni Mubarak has thus far refused to offer Egyptians a new social contract based on democratic representation and political freedoms, which has led to protests. El-Shimy says that, “like Tunisia, Egypt is flirting with a democratic revolution, not an Islamist takeover” and calls on U.S. officials to consider “cutting off its lifelines to Egypt’s autocratic regime and paying more attention to Egyptians’ demands for their fundamental rights.” While it is unclear what the immediate outcome of the protests will be, it is clear that they represent the end of Mubarak’s regime and when regime changes occur, “populations often do not forgive those who worked to prop up the old guard.”

Posted in Egypt, Protests, Public Opinion, Reform, US foreign policy |