Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian presidential frontrunner, recently said at a roundtable meeting with journalists that it would take up to 25 years for the country to achieve true democracy. He believed that people should put national security and economic recovery above freedom and democracy.
In 2011, the authoritarian rule of Hosni Mubarak was ended by the public. Then elected president Mohamed Morsi triggered another political crisis by issuing a decree that would give him extensive power. Then Sisi ousted Morsi and hit out at the Muslim Brotherhood to pave the way for his presidency.
Egyptian society has experienced endless political disorder, democratic chaos and public protests, resulting in destitution, social split and frequent violence. More and more Egyptians began to miss the stability under Mubarak's rule.
US political scientist Samuel P. Huntington once pointed out that a powerful government is determined by its ability to balance political participation and political institutionalization. He believed that political stability is in direct proportion to political institutionalization and inversely proportional to public participation.
Egypt used to have an authoritarian rule with low political institutionalization. There was a lack of effective system for the public to express opinions, and street protests became the main means for the public to participate in politics.
During the one-year rule of Morsi, more than 7,400 street protests took place. Frequent protests not only led to political chaos, but also laid the ground for outside forces to intervene in Egyptian affairs.
Egypt dreamed of achieving democracy at the beginning. Then it experienced the plight of reform and transformation. Now it is suffering from long-term social chaos. Political and social reforms cannot be further carried out, social conflicts can hardly be solved, and divergences between religious and secular forces has deepened.
For Egypt, a country amid painful transformation, the fundamental reason for its chaos and instability is that society has deeply split and all forces are not able to reach a consensus on issues that matter the future of the country and people. Under such circumstances, if Egypt simply copies Western-style democracy, it will not only intensify the power struggle among all kinds of political forces, but also make democracy an empty slogan.
Street politics is one form of democracy. If it is aimed at creating political crisis, disturbing political order and obstructing the rule of law, it will threaten democracy. Behind the frequent street politics is the country's lack of basic political consensus. Egypt has become even worse than three years ago, as people are more destitute, the economic structure is out of balance and conflicts between religious and secular forces have become more prominent.
Judging from the past three years' experience, the Egyptian public still needs time to form a sense of civil society and democratic political perception. Whether the country can find the right track for democratic politics will be determined by not only whether a consensus can be reached based on dialogue, coordination and coexistence, but also whether a sense of civil society and democratic political perception can be formed. As the most populous country in the Arab world, the stability of Egypt is critical both for itself and the entire Middle East and North Africa regions. For today's Egypt, a stable society, orderly political participation, economic development and united public are the first step to freedom and democracy.
The author is a postdoctoral fellow of Postdoctoral Research Station and an assistant research fellow at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University.
Source: Global Times
