121 Articles
Farid Zahran is a publisher and writer. He is the co-founder of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party
In the previous article, we made nine observations on what we considered to be the main features of the current political scene, so that we could anticipate the changes that could occur in the coming period. Overall, these observations included a decline in the popularity of the authority and its insistence on moving along the …
Founders and leaders of many parties that emerged after the revolution, including our party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, have taken part in the 25 January Revolution. Long before the founding of these parties, many of these leaders played great roles in paving the way for the revolution and preparing for it. Besides several other …
Dear readers, we will try to present one of the most important stories that summarises the meaning of the slogan “No voice is louder than the voice of battle”, with the conspiracy theory to justify the continued security control and the postponement of the democratic project. Our story begins with shocking news and images reported …
I am wondering how the conspiracy theory is used against Egypt? In other words: why do some sides promote this theory? And against whom? We tried in the previous article to highlight one of the reasons of the use of conspiracy theories to justify the criticism against authorities in Egypt due to human rights violations. …
The talk about conspiracy is not new. For decades, all the rulers of the 1952 school of thinking talked about conspiracy. Sometimes it was an imperial plot, sometimes it was a communist one. The funny thing about conspiracies is that supporters of the regime believe that conspiracies have expanded over the past years to include …
Let us look at how pro-regime forces, or rather pro-1952 family forces, perceive the people through their explanations for the reluctance of the majority to participate in the parliamentary elections. Firstly, we will notice that the people remain a “sacred” entity to them. However, the people may sometimes behave unfavourably and not meet their expectations. …
The radical opposition that was brought up in the 1952 era, with its “religious” and “secular” segments, begins from the perception that the people are an inanimate object with homogenous interests and orientations. Therefore, it considered, or almost considered, all citizens who did not vote in elections, in this case the “peaceful” majority, to necessarily …
The initial results announced at the end of the first day in the first round of the 2015 parliamentary elections revealed that turnout did not exceed 2.7%. This was according to official sources, and from inside the electoral commission, as well as from inside the different polling stations. It was clear through the satellite channels …
Ministries in Egypt are more of an apprentice who follows all of its employer’s commands and bears all consequences if those commands result in a crisis or a problem. The president’s group, formed over time, does not become part of the cabinet or secretarial staff nor do they play the role of the apprentice. They …
The change in the 1952 family is associated with changing the president, and consequently, changing the ruling group and some fundamental general orientations. When changes associated with ministerial changes occurred under a post-1952 president, this was generally because the president decided to form a team that would allow him to impose the change he wants. …
The cabinet of Sherif Ismail, which was appointed in September 2015, less than three months before the parliamentary elections, is the fourth ministry in the era of Al-Sisi, which practically began during the cabinet of Hazem El-Beblawi. Ismail’s ministry is the tenth since the 25 January Revolution, and the fall of Mubarak. Here, we will …
Some people may not remember that the parliamentary elections were supposed to take place in October 2014, but were postponed more than once, and we are now in May 2015. The new promise is that the elections will be held after Eid Al-Fitr, roughly three months from now. These continuous postponements have raised many questions …
At first, the notion of Arabism appeared to liberate the Levant from the Ottoman Empire. However, after the 1952 revolution, [Gamal] Abdel Nasser re-defined the Arab nationalism to fight traditional colonialism following its retreat after the two great powers (UK and France) fell back as a result of World War II. The national ideologies presented …
The higher strata of the middle class, with society’s higher authority, insist on supporting the security strategy for confronting terrorism and extremism. On the one hand, they fear that using any other strategy may detract from the luxury they enjoy. On the other hand, they do not feel any direct harm from the security’s subjugation …
In light of the strategy of fighting terrorism and extremism, regardless of whether you support or oppose this strategy, we all notice that terrorism is expanding. The strategy was widened to include not only armed terrorists but also any one holding the “Rabaa” sign, even if they do not participate in or provoke direct violence. …
The terrorist events that took place in Sinai on 29 January 2015 have raised major concerns and debates. Concerns were very obvious on TV screens, in newspapers, within political forces, and perhaps also ruling circles. These concerns, in my opinion, are justified. A year and a half after the first Rafah incident which targeted a …
Martyr Shaimaa Al-Sabbagh was not, of course, the first victim after 30 June. We do not know exactly how many innocent Egyptians have been killed since 30 June. By that, we mean unarmed and peaceful citizens killed, without any use of direct violence in clashing with the authorities, which would, only in this case, result …
There is a war, or rather wars, taking place in the Middle East between political Islam and ruling regimes, and most observers note that on one side of these wars stands a group of states and governments while the other includes religious, extremist, and militant groups and organisations. The current scene may bring to mind …
Leaders of the 1952 family start taking power through alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood. Naguib, Nasser and El-Sadat did this. Finally, the Supreme Council – Al-Sisi followed. Even Mubarak, who began to clash with political Islam because it came to power – and the trend that was found guilty for the assassination of El-Sadat, allied …
A week after dissolving political parties, particularly on 16 January 1953, Abdel Nasser announced the establishment of the “Freedom Authority”, making it a direct subsidiary of the ruling “revolution council” at the time. It was purposely called “authority” rather than “party” or “front”. The expression makes it sound like one of the state’s authorities like …
In order to discuss Al-Sisi’s relationship with politicians and get to the root causes of this apparent acrimony between the president and those working in politics in Egypt, we must review how the heads of the 1952 family changed their relationships with politicians and the political process, in order to understand the constants of the …
The vast majority of people were struck with the impression that the judgment acquitting Mubarak was not simply a court ruling issued by an independent judge acquitting Mubarak from specific crimes, but instead served to acquit the personality of Mubarak and his regime in general. We all witnessed how Mubarak’s supporters celebrated the ruling, while …
Mubarak’s regime entered into decline when contradiction and conflict reached their peak among the ruling class and junta, as with what happened previously within the 1952 family. The contradictions and conflicts were the main motivation behind the transition from one president to another. This issue reflected primarily on the ruling class’ movement toward saving their …
Within the “1952” – or “army” – family, power is transferred from president to president when the regime arrives at a crisis. For this reason, a new president must confront the causes that led to the crisis without sacrificing the constants of the regime. In other words, the new president must be seen to redraw …
Power transition within the 1952 family occurs if the regime’s crisis reaches an impasse and “change” must take place to overthrow the president and the group or oligarchy surrounding him. This leads to new regime officials appointed and some policy alterations. Perhaps we recall that, at the peak of a crisis leading to a power …
Every dynasty across history is characterised and distinguished by certain attributes, and the ‘1952 family’ is no exception. One of the most important characteristics of any dynasty is the power-transferral method, and we will notice in this regard that in most dynasties throughout history there are mechanisms for transferring power from an emperor, king, or …
We must begin with the questions that concluded my last article: Is Al-Sisi building a vision? Can we predict this vision based on his current positions? What are the resemblances between this vision and that of former president Gamal Abdel Nasser? Before we try to answer these questions, we must keep in mind Al-Sisi’s performance …
We have explained more than once that Sisi’s rule was founded on two main forces: first, the army, and the second, strong public support. Before moving on from this point, we must make it clear that the army does not provide exclusive security or control for Sisi in particular or the regime in general, despite …
In our previous article, we explained how President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi began his journey to power, claiming that his rise was based on two main forces: first, the armed forces, and second, the pro-Al-Sisi mood that has considered him to be the most capable person to provide security and stability after removing the Muslim Brotherhood. …
It is now clear, to all those concerned, that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi does not depend on political parties or forces in his administration of the country’s affairs. He has been clear and careful in emphasising this since he was elected into the presidency. Although he was trying to win support from various factions during …