The Elitism Perspective Of Egypt’s Political Transition

As an important power in the Middle East, Egypt’s political transition has ademonstration effect in this region, the result of the transition has an importantinfluence on the Middle Eastern countries’ future political development process.However, since the revolution, Egypt’s political transition process has been filled withturmoil and confusion, and had gradually turned into dilemma. In order to explain thissituation, this paper uses the theory of elitism to analyze the transition. Given the levelof the economic development, the civil society and the industrialization in the MiddleEast is still at a low degree, political elites play a key role in their political transitionand reconstruction. What kind of transition path and policy that elites choose willdirectly affect the result of Egypt’s political transition. As a result, the struggle for theleadership among the political elites as well as the lack of authority is the main reasonthat Egypt’s political transition is not stable. Egypt’s transition toward to a more openand democratic political system has become a general consensus in the whole society,while it here refers not to the western liberal democracy, but a form of democracy thatconforms to the national condition and the development of Egypt. How to build anauthoritative, effective and legitimate government is still the goal for Egypt’s politicalelites during the political transition, which also determines the government’s ability topromote reconstruction, develop economy, and maintain stability. Yet Egypt has still along way to go to achieve the real political transition after the domestic revolution,unrest and coup.