Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution. Inspired by the events in Tunisia, more than 8 million Egyptians took to the streets a year ago to protest the authoritarian rule of the Mubarak regime. Hosni Mubarak ruled Egypt with an iron hand for three decades. Jan. 25, 2011, was the beginning of an 18-day uprising.
Tens of thousands packed Tahir Square in the center of Cairo to demonstrate their solidarity for the revolution and their contempt for Mubarak. The protesters refused to compromise on the their demand for Mubarak’s immediate resignation. The military exercised restraint, to the surprise of many, and Mubarak was forced to relinquish the reigns of power.
One year later, the success of the revolution remains far from clear. Egypt is still under martial law and ruled by the military. Elections were held for the lower house of the Egyptian Parliament with the Muslim Brotherhood winning 47 percent of the seats. The Muslim Brotherhood endorses the Military Leadership’s timetable for the handover of power.
The Military has promised Presidential elections for June. A year ago, after Mubarak’s overthrow, the protesters and revolutionaries were happy to entrust the military with the rile of midwife to ease the transition to civilian democracy. However, the slow pace of reform, a lingering economic crisis, and strong arm tactics by the military have led to frustration and disenchantment. The military “has gone from respected to reviled among many of the protesters” according to Aaron Ross in an article in Mother Jones. The one year anniversary at Tahir Square was attended by tens of thousands but it “was evident that new tensions had replaced the spirit that unified last year’s uprisings,” according to the New York Times.
The unsettled and ambiguous situation in Egypt is indicative of the Arab Spring movement as a whole. The outcome of Gaddafi’s overthrow in Libya is far from clear and the people in Syria are still engaged in a brutal battle with the Assad regime.
It is helps to give some context to the revolutionary uprisings stirring in the Middle East. In an article for Foreign Policy, Stephen M. Walt remarks: “If the history of revolutions tells us anything, it is that building new political orders is a protracted, difficult process, and having a few Mandelas around is no guarantee of success.”
I was in the middle of reading Thomas Carlye’s The French Revolution when the Egyptian uprising began last year. Carlyle meticulously documented the daily events of the French Revolution. The French Revolution was a long term affair (1789 to 1795) that is notoriously remembered for the Reign of Terror (1792). Napoleon seized power in 1799 in a coup d’ etat ostensibly to protect the Revolution. The revolutionary struggle in Egypt and its neighbors is only the first step in a long-term process.