Egypt’s Culture and Political System Essay Example for Free

Egypts Culture and Political System EssayThe Egyptian culture is considered peerless of the oldest cultures in human history. Surprisingly, it almost has some of gender equality except that it needs to a greater extent(prenominal) to consider, in swan achieving the third Millennium Development Goal, which talks of achieving gender equity/equality and women em indexment by 2015. I would recommend that the Egyptian constitution considers enacting and/or passing several legislations in favor of women and as tumefy give recognition to the in phaseal market sector, where bulks of the women be making meaningful contribution to the economy. I would as well recommend that this ancient nation and culture acknowledges the home, where the men considerably grant all the major decisiveness making powers. I am of the conviction that women make sound and major decisions as well and coffin nail provide better and transformation ideas, realizing the remarkably undeniable range of the wo men of Liberia during the civil war.I believe that if our genesis begins to identify the errors of past generations, relative to gender-related issues, and if we address those issues in more formal ways by root to give women their rightful places in society ensuring that opportunities and privileges are equally and equitably distributed, our world can be the most enjoyable place even for generations unborn. In an effort to do this, we must begin with an credit of the problems as stated above, discuss them thoroughly as a way of enabling us to foxiness or design ideas that would amicably resolve them for the better of our general world, beginning with the Egyptian society. In Egypt the semi semipolitical body of policies and regulations of its political structure is based on its fundamental laws and practices. Most of which shows how the Egyptian government positions its power on the state and the society it governs. Egypt proceeded out creation a Republic adopting a democrati c system. This systemde attractives the way in which it uses its public authority. There are basically six parts to this system. The primary is the innate system.There was a constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt in 1971 that was used but then had a pen amendment to it in 1980. The actual amendment had commonality in the English Common Law which came from the Napoleonic Code. It simply explains that Egypt declares its self as an Arab Republic with a democratic system. The second part is called the Executive Branch. The president is called the item of State. The head of state is s select by a minimum one-third majority of the Majlis ash-Shaab, which is the tribes Assembly. The Peoples Assembly must approve by a minimum of two-thirds and have to be elected by a majority referendum. The election landmark is for six years with the possibility for re-election with conditional reasons for return. displace into to play the general state policy is do up and supervised by the Hea d of State. He also rules the Armed Force. The last elected president of the republic was Mohammed Hosni Mubarak.The supreme executive and administrative organ of the State is the government they are comprised of the Council of Ministers. This is ruled by the Prime Minister and he is the overseer of the work of the government. The highest part of the government is the Executive and administrative part of the Egyptian Republic is the Council of Ministers. The Ministers are to force backher responsible for(p) for the policy and procedure of the State before the Peoples Assembly, ein truth Minister is responsible for the performance of his Ministry and is held to accountability to do so. The Parliament has great power as well. They have the power to withdraw confidence from the Cabinet or from some(prenominal) Cabinet member and leave them powerless. The fourth part of this system is the Legislative Branch. This branch of the Egyptian Parliament is a reflection in character and cons ists of the Peoples Assembly, or Majlis El-Shaab and the Advisory Council or Majlis El-Shourah.The Peoples Assembly is the legislative branch of the State consisting of 444 directly elected members and 10 members appointed by the President, who serve for a term of five years. It has the power to approve the general policy, brisk laws, the budget and the development plans of the government. It also has the authority to seek investigations and to levy taxes, besides appointing the Presidential panorama and passing a vote of no-confidence in the cabinet. The Advisory Council with one hundred forty members, out of which 70 membersare nominated by the President, is Egypts consultative council. It offers advices and consultation and proposes to the Assembly saucy laws and regulations (Haas, F. 2008). The fifth part of the system is the Judicial Branch. The Judicial branch System was brought into the country introduced into the country in 1854 and predicated on the English common law, Islamic law, and Napoleonic codes system to go through for four categories of courts of justice. Almost exchangeable the United States the highest judicial body is the Supreme Constitutional Court, the Court of Cessation.There are seven courts of stir in the various(a) systems, and the Summary Tribunals in the districts are the principal court system in Egypt. It guarantees the independence of the judicial system. The fifth system is the companionship of Power. This system is ruled on a multi-party system. The Law 40 of 1977 regulates the development of political parties in Egypt. Though there is currently 17 active political parties representing various stands across the political spectrum, the law prohibits the creation of religious-based political parties in the state. Presently the National Democratic Party holds the majority of seats in the Peoples Assembly (History. 2012). The sixth system is the local government. This is headed by a regulator who is appointed by the Pre sident which is in truth different as to how they are selected in the US. Egypt is administratively divide into 26 Governorates. Within their districts, local government units establish and run all public utilities, provide go and designate industrial areas. Working closely at various levels with local government is the Local usual Councils.The basics Egypt is a large, mostly Arab, mostly Muslim country. At most 80 million people, it has the largest commonwealth in the Middle East and the third-largest in Africa. Most of Egypt is in North Africa, although the part of the country that abuts Israel, the Sinai Peninsula, is in Asia. Its other neighbors are Sudan to the South, Libya to the West, and Saudi Arabia across the Gulf of Aqaba to the East. It has been was ruled by Hosni Mubarak since from 1981 until February 11th( Pew explore Center 2011, November 17). As to what is going on today in Egypt. There has been fierce protest in Egypt that has been promoted by the recent prot ests in which led to the fall of the Tunisian government as well as getting rid of longtime Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The Egyptians have gathered impetus to get support of other protesters across the Arab world in Algeria, notably inprotesting their autocratic governments, high levels of corruption, and craunch poverty.This is a big reason Why Egyptians unhappy and disturbed about the government. They feel they have no basic freedom than Tunisians. Egypt is ranked 138th of 167 countries on The Economists Democracy index, a widely accepted measure of political freedom. That ranking puts Egypt just seven spots ahead of Tunisia. And Egyptians are significantly poorer than their cousins to the west (Mislan, D. 2012). How did this all start? These protests started with the protests in Tunisia. Just like their Tunisian counterparts, Egyptian protesters have pointed to a specific incident as inspiration for the unrest. Many have cited the June 2010 beating death of Khale d Said, allegedly at the hands of police, as motivating for their rage. hardly its also clear that the issues here are larger (Prager, D. 2012). This seems to be complicated for the US more than Tunisia was. The Tunisian regime was a key ally for the US in the fight against Al Qaeda. But the US governments ties to Tunisias Ben Ali pale in comparison to American ties to Egypt.Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution, a centrist think tank, explains Predictions that a Tunisia-like originate will soon topple Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak are premature the Egyptian regime, with its well-paid phalanx, is likely to be more unified and more ruthless than its Tunisian counterparts were. The U.S. is the essential benefactor of the Egyptian regime, which, in turn, has dependably supported American regional priorities. After Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel, Egypt is the largest recipient of U.S. assistance, including $1.3 billion in annual military aid. In other words, if the army ever d ecides to shoot into a crowd of unarmed protestors, it will be guessing with hardware provided by the United States. As Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations points out, the Egyptian military is not there to project power, but to protect the regime (History. 2012).There was a exertion started in Egypt called the Egyptian Movement for change over (EMC). It also has another name called, Kefaya which in English means liberal. This came about in 2004. Almost immediately its importance to Egyptian political life was recognized, though not understood. Both Egyptian and Hesperian analysts have mischaracterized the thrust. Interpretations have been too narrow, focusing on specific expound and ignoring the headings broad vision, or too broad, mistaking Kefaya for a generic social movement in the Western mode. All such(prenominal) approaches fail toappreciate Kefayas real contribution. This essay argues that Kefayas significance lies in its transformative potential as a broa d political force that is uniquely desirable to the needs of the moment in Egypt. It is at once a cross-ideological force that has the potential, in the long run, of creating a new mainstream and a movement of a new kind that is creating a distinctive and promising form of politics for Egypt.Egypts political system has go pasted a dead end in the early twenty-first century. The opposition political parties are locked in their headquarters, unable to communicate with the public. Virtually acquiescing to the siege of an arsenal of constraining laws, these political parties have for years suffered from an increasingly diminishing membership, a lack of operational funds, and internecine interior(a) feuds. The illegality of the Muslim Brothers (MB) has paradoxically liberated that organization from restrictions that come with governmental licensing. However, the ideology, posture, secrecy, and political tactics of the grassroots-based MB set about the mis give of many political forc es, including some Islamists. At the same time, the profaneist-Islamist polarization hinders the possibility of reaching any meaningful consensus on critical issues.This blockage is not lost on the regime, the clear beneficiary of such divisions among its adversaries, and it does not augur well for the future of the brothers in a strain role in do Egyptian political life. Amid this political disarray, a new generation of Egyptians holds the promise for transforming politics in Egypt. They have found a home and an instrument in Kefaya and in the process have invented a new form of politics. Their innovations are historically grounded on the specifics of Egypts political life in recent decades. comical Egyptian circumstances have shaped their experiences, aspirations, and vision for the future. With the seething political discontent on the one hand and the ideologically based mistrust and mutual exclusion among the political forces on the other, Egypt needs today, more than ever, a new form of politics that pulls together diverse ideas from across the political spectrum to forge a new national project.For more than a decade, a group of activists and intellectuals have interacted across ideological lines to reach a common ground. Kefaya emerged as one manifestation of these efforts and as an important illustration of the possibilities of this new politics. duration such collaborative work across ideological lines is not unique in democratic experiences around the world, Kefaya represents the first successful effort of that sort in modern Egyptian politics. This essay, based on primary sources, including open-ended interviews, statements, newspaper articles, and reports, as well as unpublished documents, is composed of three main parts. The first part explains in more detail the reasons why Kefaya has been widely mischaracterized the second illustrates why and how Kefaya represents a new force with the potential of creating a new mainstream and the third explo res the new politics invented by Kefaya.There has been misconceive Kefaya Since its early days, there have been various critical interpretations of Kefaya by politicians and intellectuals alike, at times citing deficiencies in the movements profile, actions, and approach, while at other times dismissing the movement outright as being a foreign puppet or the pastime of a bunch of kids. The most serious and widely notable critique of Kefaya is that it has been essentially a mere protest movement, targeting President Mubarak personally, without putting ahead an alternative candidate or articulating a constructive vision for political transformation. The critique along these lines has gained more momentum since the 2005 presidential election. Because Kefayas main slogan expressed the rejection of a fifth term for Mubarak as well as the succession of his son, the argument goes that Kefaya lost its raison detre with the end of the election.Except for rejecting the election results, sym bolized by the slogan of Batel, cryptograph new was produced. When Kefaya played a leading role in the formation of the National Front for Change on the eve of the subsequent parliamentary elections, it was criticized as passing the torch to the old opposition parties, the very same entities whose inaction it has been formed to face. (Haas, F. 2008).The EMC had been dragged into sitting together with the leaders of the tamed opposition, instead of putting forward a demand for changing the electoral system. charm critics clearly question Kefayas contribution to Egyptian politics, even the more positive assessments of the EMC mischaracterize it. For example, the American Left sees Kefaya as the beginning of the process of rebuilding an Egyptian Left crushed by decades of police oppression and a reverse of its political marginalization caused by the rise of political Islam (Haas, F. 2008).some(a) Egyptian analysts as well characterize Kefayaas a secular protest movement and thereby i mplicitly expect its role to be the containment of the Islamists. Kefaya has been so widely misapprehend in the West as well as among the Western-educated elite in Egypt because of the reliance on Western social scientific classifications, notably the social movement literature, to make sense of a phenomenon emerging from the very different Egyptian context. This shortcoming is compounded by looking at Kefaya with an ideologically selective eye. While Kefaya has indeed demonstrated several of the characteristics highlighted in the literature on new social movements, it is neither champion issue oriented nor concerned with identity two of the most important features of new social movements.Shoehorning Kefaya into a category derived from the experience of postindustrial societies obscures more than it illuminates. Nevertheless, the concept of the new social movement comes closest to capturing indisputable features of Kefaya. The movement is one of dissent, aiming in a constant and persistent endeavor toward the transformation of Egypt.4 It is a unblock network of small groupings around the country. Like social movements, it aims at generating public attention and has emerged from a identification of the perils involved in conventional party politics in Egypt, marked by debilitating restrictions and dilemmas. In other words, Kefaya emerges out of realization that the institutional channels are neither neutral nor amenable to the demands for change. However, foreign conventional social movements and because of the specific necessities of the Egyptian context, Kefaya is not focused on a single issue.The same, incidentally, is straight of the Islamic movement whose platform also embraces a range of issues. In addition to the breadth of the issues communicate by Kefaya, the movement is ideologically diverse. In this way, it differs from the Islamic movement. While the latter has a concrete ideology shaping its project, Kefaya goes beyond any single ideology t o be the only movement in contemporaneous Egypt that emerged out of serious political interactions across ideological lines. Approaching Kefaya through the prism of the social movement literature, with its American scholarship emphasis on resource mobilization and political processes, blinds analysis to this distinctive feature, which is in fact one of the most important contributions of Kefaya to Egypts political life. There is concern about the momentum behind Egypts emergency law, and what it means for progress both the incredible progress that has already beenmade and the equally incredible progress that has yet to be made. There is concern about the treatment and stead of the Copts and other members of the Christian Egyptian minority.There is concern about the security of the EgyptianIsraeli border and about relations between the two countries in general. There is concern that the progress that has been made therefrom far could actually lead to a reversal of Egypts progress, should the freedom to elect lead to a government that constricts the freedom of the Egyptian people even more than we have seen over the past 30 years And the list could go on. Indeed, there is no shortage of things about which to come to. There is a delicately line between worrying and believe. Similarly, there is a fine line between two, seemingly contradictory, truths Some degree of discontent with our present circumstances is healthy and necessity, because discontent fuels progress at the same time, being happy requires that we make a point of being happy wherever we are. There is a fine and difficult line between making the best of our current reality and not giving up.It is necessary to think through all possible outcomes, including the undesirable and even the remote ones. Both worrying and believing are the result of thinking. Worry and anxiety result from focusing on undesirable outcomes no occasion how probable or improbable. Belief, on the other hand, is the result o f focusing on the best possible outcomes again, no matter how probable or improbable. Whereas worrying fuels panic and skepticism, believing fuels faith and hope. Positive action rarely results from the chaos, fear, or feelings of scarcity that often accompany worry. Faith and hope lead to trust and courage and trust and courage lead to positive, prosaically action.So, yes, there does seem to be a great deal to worry about right now. Even still, if theres even the remotest possibility that believing instead of worrying will lead to continued progress, and then it seems to me that believing is what we have to do. Positive Psychology has been described by Martin Seligman and others as the knowledge of what makes life worth living of what is working for individuals, families, communities, and society more broadly. The Positive Psychology experiment with which we are now charged is to, together, choose belief over worry. At least between now and Egypts presidential election, let us t ogether make a conscious, deliberate decision to focus on what is working and how it can lead to the best possible future for Egypt and for the world as a whole.ReferencesMislan, D. (2012). Cross heathenish Perspectives. San Diego, CA Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Haas, F. (2008). German Science and Black RacismRoots of the Nazi Holocaust. FASEB Journal, 22(2), 332-337.History. (2012). Germany Country Review, 7-14.Ninkovich, F. (2001). The United States and Imperialism. Wiley-Blackwell. Pew Research Center. (2011, November 17). The American-Western European Values Gap. Retrieved fromhttp//www.pewglobal.org/2011/11/17/the-american-western-european-values-gap/ Prager, D. (2012). Still the Best Hope Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph. HarperCollins.