Egypt as a Failing State: Implications for US National Security

Abstract

Short-term solutions to more profound, long-term problems are not sufficient to safeguard United States interests in the Middle East. This paper challenges the current United States policy towards Egypt and its underlying assumption that regime stability supercedes a US interest in true political development. The key question in this paper queries why the status quo policy towards Egypt is no longer fulfilling US objectives when it has been a successful pillar for US Middle East policy in the past. One can easily understand the seductive nature of adhering to the status quo policy by recalling Anwar Sadat's initiatives moving Egypt squarely from the Soviet camp to the American one, the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, and Egypt's support during the Gulf War in 1991. The United States must take bold new steps towards its relationship with Egypt and leverage Egypt's historical regional leadership to better support US interests for the future. What has changed in the global and regional security environment that demands the re-evaluation of our policy propos Egypt? The global and regional security environments have undergone monumental shifts; new fault lines exist. Although President Husni Mubarak has led a state and society that has weathered economic dislocations, political "deliberalization," a growing Islamist movement and an apathetic political culture, these forces will quickly overwhelm Mubarak's traditionally autocratic and oppressive short-term fixes. The United States must not be lulled into a false sense of security based on Mubarak's grip on power for over twenty years. The possibility of unrest is real; with the correct confluence of domestic, regional, and international events, Egypt can quickly be added to the list of failed states.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA434997

Entities

People

  • Cindy R. Jebb
  • Ruth M. Beitler

Organizations

  • United States Military Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commerce
  • Economic Systems
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Globalization
  • Governments
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Political Systems
  • Security
  • Societies
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Treaties

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Strategic Security Studies