Certain moments in history transcend the time and place at which they occur: think the fall of the Berlin Wall, or the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. These are more than just important events—the shockwaves that they send through our collective psyche affect our perception of what it means to exist within our era, forcing us to revisit both our own values and what we observe as the values of others.
A turning point of such impact took place on February 11, 2011, when, after weeks of protests, Egypt’s dictator of 30 years, Hosni Mubarak, abdicated his throne. Social media portals exploded with messages of support from all corners of the planet, and this video quickly made the rounds, resonating with supporters of freedom worldwide. Perhaps due to my interest in developments in the Middle East, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news that Mubarak had fallen; the event seemed to herald obvious and revolutionary change. The global community was instantaneously galvanized by the successful result of the uprising that, in effect, marked the full blossoming of the Arab Spring.
Nearly four years after the fact, the thrill and unbridled optimism that followed what seemed to be a climactic moment of the Arab Spring has all but dried up. Tunisia remains the one relative bright spot in the series of rebellions that ousted the modern sultans; at the very least, it has undergone an orderly transfer of power through an election that seems to have avoided widespread fraud. Libya and Syria have disintegrated into all-out civil war while Yemen teeters on the brink of sectarian chaos. In Egypt, the democratic elections that succeeded the end of the transitional military rule that followed Mubarak’s fall resulted in the election of Mohammed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, as president of Egypt. After a full year had passed with the new Brotherhood government making precious little progress on delivering the prosperity it had promised, Egyptians again took to the streets. The new round of protests forced Morsi out of the presidency, with participants citing concerns about Morsi’s abuses of power and his attempts to change the Constitution. Once more, the complaints of the Egyptian people fell on deaf ears. Since July 3, 2013, Egypt has been subjected to autocratic rule under General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that has rivaled the Mubarak regime in its harshness.
Egypt’s recent history is one defined by turmoil. It is a nation dealing with the trauma of colonial subjugation, which manifested itself in the competing doctrines of Arab nationalism and political Islamism that emerged in its wake. The former existed as the basis for Nasserism, a polarizing secular ideology that made an enemy of and persecuted the latter, which itself was conceived in direct response to Western influence. Nasserism spawned the great pan-Arabist experiment called the United Arab Republic, a union with Hafez al-Assad’s Syria, which failed after just three years. Egypt also contends with internal unease over its historical relationship with Israel as well as how that relationship should develop. With many contrasting legacies and the absence of civil institutions, Egypt’s transition away from autocracy, which will perhaps take decades, never seemed like it was going to be simple.
The most recent stage of this tumultuous transition is the military government headed by General al-Sisi. Among the violations of Egypt’s current regime are the censoring of private newspapers, quashing of intellectual freedom through the denial of visas, the maintenance of a clandestine prison system for the interrogation of rights activists, and the kangaroo court conviction and then detainment of three journalists from Al Jazeera, who have now been held for over a year. Perhaps most egregiously, the same court system that sentenced the correspondents for doing their jobs acquitted Mubarak of all crimes in connection with his government’s response to the protests in 2011.
When al-Sisi took power, he made a point of cracking down on the Brotherhood and, later, turning a blind eye to the situation in Gaza. These moves earned his government tacit, even if not public, support from the United States, which continues to foot a bill of billions to the Egyptian military. In doing so, Washington actively condones the blatant assault on the freedom of the Egyptian people and the effective undoing of the revolution for which they have worked so hard. Since its ally in Washington dating back to the Camp David Accords in 1979 has geopolitical interests to consider, it was not surprising that Egypt did not take on its strenuous transition alone.
In response to authoritarianism, extremism thrives. Egypt has been no exception; a radical Islamist cell operating in the Sinai region recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Al-Sisi’s retaliation has been quick and decisive, which has served to establish his rule as a stabilizer in the eyes of policymakers in Washington. It is this tradeoff between stability in the region and true revolution for Egypt that seems to have led the United States to desire another Mubarak: someone who will hold down the fort and avoid unrest that could otherwise endanger critical areas. With al-Sisi’s growing authoritarianism and clear message of intolerance to any opposition, Washington’s wish has come true.
If history is any guide, though, the uneasy calm will be short-lived, since one simply cannot expect an entire nation to suffer from collective amnesia. Egyptians remember Mubarak, and the odds that they will relinquish their newfound voice to let al-Sisi continue to maraud unabated are slim. The eyes of many ordinary Americans were opened after 2011, when, as with so many other great events, perceptions and values changed. Washington chose not to revisit its own, and while this choice may complicate Egypt’s process, the revolution is far from over. As Egyptians continue to shape the future of their nation, the world should not be surprised if they create more moments that resonate in the annals of history.