Abstract

To assert that Egypt, prior to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, was deeply entrenched in authoritarianism, would amount to stating the obvious. Indeed, scholars had arrived at a consensus that authoritarianism was indeed compatible with the Egyptian society. However, the outbreak of the 2011 uprising in Egypt and the resultant ouster of Mubarak appeared to open a new vista for the prospect of regime changes in authoritarian societies. It is debatable to state that authoritarian rule in Egypt ended with the exit of Mubarak. The finding in this study is negative. Egypt is unlike authoritarian states like China and Singapore, whose credentials in governance have yielded stupendous socio-economic transformations. To ascertain whether the authoritarian accusations levelled against Mubarak in 2011 continued till 2018, the qualitative research method was used. This method helped to examine and synthesize the extant literature on authoritarianism and regime changes in contemporary African international studies. The paper argues that beyond the negative connotations of authoritarianism, the need for a strong leader and a strong state is the only alternative between the Egyptians and anarchy. Again since the post-Mubarak era is also authoritarian, this study recommends a re-examination of the thesis, which postulates that authoritarianism is a necessary precursor of regime changes.

Keywords

AuthoritarianismRegime ChangeEgyptDemocratizationDeep State

Published in: Nsibidi:AE-FUNAI Journal of Humanities ( Volume: 1 , Issue: 1 , October 2018)

Page(s): 31 - 54

Date of Publication: October 2018

ISSN Information: 1596-5428