By Eberhard Kienle
The hot heritage and politics of Egypt illuminates the tortuous and sometimes contradictory dating among liberalization and democracy in 3rd global nations. Eberhard Kienle argues that the much-vaunted reform and liberalization of Egypt’s financial system has been partial and selective, faraway from reaping rewards all people. the writer appears at how financial reform and liberalization have didn't produce a better measure of political democracy: notions of non-obligatory pluralism, political responsibility, fresh elections, a surely loose press, and the containment of police powers, that have grew to become out to be an excellent myth covering regulations on political participation and civil liberties. This ebook will shed a lot gentle at the challenge among political and financial reform confronted through such a lot of constructing international locations at the present time.
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Extra info for A Grand Delusion: Democracy and Economic Reform in Egypt (Library of Modern Middle East Studies)
Example text
It may therefore appear that the restrictions on liberties introduced in this period were often, although by no means exclusively, linked to the economic crisis of the 1980s and to the economic reforms implemented or envisaged to overcome that crisis. This analysis will then ultimately enable us to engage constructively with the historical and theoretical debates referred to at the beginning. 1 Some had been introduced by Mubarak to replace more stringent ones inherited from Sadat. Most dated from the days of the latter, who, however, in many cases only amended or even alleviated restrictions imposed under Nasir.
46 per cent of the votes cast, if official results can be trusted. 4 per cent. Only the results of referenda that affected the president’s legitimacy less directly were slightly less impressive. 46 During and between election campaigns, the existence of opposition parties was never mentioned on radio or television. As presented by these media, the political arena was populated exclusively by actors belonging to or close to the regime. Given that radio and television were the main sources of information for most Egyptians, the number of potential voters for one of the opposition parties probably did not exceed the number of readers of their newspapers, whose print-run was limited and whose distribution was often patchy outside the major cities.
However, company status did not allow these structures to act in the same way nor with the same popular participation as associations. 64 In principle, membership of the unions was open to all ‘those working’ (al-‘amilin) – that is, workers, employees and civil servants – even though some restrictions applied. Each ‘responsible’ for certain industries, the branch unions were the only ones open to those working in those industries. 65 34 POLITICAL LIBERTIES AT THE END OF THE 1980S In reality, union rights were also restricted by the fact that union leaders were, almost without exception, members of the NDP, even though the law no longer granted such privileges to members of the regime party.
