MA Sultan - محمد سلطان
Initially, the term “political structure” is used in this paper as a reflection of the norms and interrelations between the political entities, groups or institutions, and how that contributes to the way the government is functioning or the state is run (Goldstein, 1991). Through my research, I will hold Egypt as my reference model for the implication of the findings about the dominance of the political structure.
The political structure in the Third World Countries is based on many factors, one of which is the supremacy of gender orientation. The inequalities between men and women are a reflective indicator of the entirety of power relations of the country on a larger scale (Farah, 2009). Such patriarchal system could be analyzed with respect to what accounted for the formation of this tendency. In fact, there are major factors such as the economic structure of the society, religious dominance, and the state ideology.
At the very beginning, it is worthy of noting that inequalities, in general, are the outcome of the unequal access to the resources, which allow small portion or a niche of the society to be more privileged. Accordingly, the government abstains from intervening for many reasons, like not willing to give equal access to resources, traditional and cultural-based reason, but most importantly to keep the card of gender inequality and women’s rights as an asset the could be resorted to in the politically volatile times. In other words, as a means to bargain within the country with the elites or even on an international level with the foreign countries, activists or organizations for political interest (Farah, 2009).
The Third world countries are always keen about the use of force in order to stabilize their thrones, considering that these countries range from absolute dictatorships to authoritarian regimes. In the case of Egypt, there has been a trend to revive and empower the role of women even if the trials have not been that significant. Starting by the modernizing Egypt, during Muhammad Ali’s reign, there was a dedication towards the formation of a new secular country where education and industry are given top priority. According to Farah, Muhammad Ali’s main accomplishment is his new methodology of subduing the Ulama, religious scholars, to his authority and not being a dependent wing anymore, and creating a modern education that goes parallel to Al-Azhar or Kuttab. Having these existential revolutionary decisions would have led to the betterment of women status, yet the women’s right has been kept intact even till now.
All the trials of any change were countered with the traditional scholars, and on the contrary, even the rights given to women, like the right to inherit, are not implemented (Farah, 2009). By the advent of Nasser, the outcome of the revolutionary decision in 1956 -that ensued 1952- was granting full rights to women. However, during Sadat, Mubarak and till now, it is quite obvious that the neoliberal discourse and implementations in all of the Third world countries, including Egypt, has exacerbated and dampened the role of women in the society. Such a dilemma is induced by the heavy burden obligations on the third world countries that impose the neoliberal goals as the main ones to be sought. Therefore, any empowerment for women is not more than an accomplishment on paper, whereas the reality is getting worse due to the economic and political changes that accounted for the dramatic decrease of women labor in the state sector (Farah, 2009 and “Research on the Economic Participation of Women in Egypt”, 2016).
The religious factor also is playing a major role in the equation not only as supplementary but also as a solid one along with patriarchy. When Muhammad Ali gained the support of the Ulamma for taking over the new position of Wali, he knew that the dependent power of those scholars could topple him in the future as well. That decision could be analyzed from two perspectives. Firstly, what Muhammad Ali did could be understood as a step towards empowering Egypt, which had been exploited for years from other Walies. Also, such empowerment would not only result in alleviating the problems of Egypt through lessening the constraints of the religious scholars over the country but also to strengthening the country for more expansion over other territories. On the other hand, an analysis by Dr. Khaled Fahmy, professor and chair of AUC’s Department of History that what Muhammad Ali did was not meant to contribute to Egypt at the first place, but it was more about improving the Pasha’s land, Egypt.
Either way, those steps accounted for the rise of Muhammad Abdu, Al-Afghani and other scholars who followed the same path of emphasizing on nationalism. The rise of nationalism was also back by Islamism as an intertwined shield opposing the foreign occupation. Similarly, such a tendency was adapted by other Third World countries, like Turkey under Kemal Ataturk and the Young Turks movement (Hanioglu, 1995).
Furthermore, the Third World Countries have that characteristic of exploiting religions and religious groups or fighting them based on political interests. As for Egypt, many studies have revealed that part of the society does show sympathy with the terrorist attacks against the repressive regimes (Kenny, 2006). Another manifestation of such exploitation of religion was perpetuated during Sadat’s reign by supporting the left wing, Sadat’s opponents. Unsurprisingly, the over-empowerment of the fundamentalist and using them as a lethal weapon against the regime’s enemies was the same means by which Sadat got assassinated. The close interrelationship between religion and politics has accounted for the rise of patriarchy not only as the product of power-seeking but rather as the safest means for rescuing and preserving the political interest and the interrelations between the political institutions and organization. For example, president Sadat has been known, as he called himself repeatedly, the believing president and the father of the Egyptians. Tracing the same footsteps, Mubarak tried to distance himself from the Islamic rhetoric; however, he was one of the attendees in the funeral of the spiritual leader of MB, Omar Al-Telmisany, in 1986.
Another example of the dominance of the political structure in the Third World countries in general and Egypt specifically is the dominance of the elites over the business sphere and the political means. Historically speaking, I would say the time at which the interference of the elite in the economy was the least is during Nasser’s reign due to his socialist reforms that aimed at boosting the public sector’s capability to produce and compete nationally and internationally. Accordingly, the privilege bestowed upon the public sector was associated with national industries run by the national government, which was antithetical to the preceded or following regimes that got subdued to the privatization processes.
Ultimately, it is common in the Third World Countries to be totally inclined towards Politicisim. It is very obvious even in the countries calling for the adoption of the economic discourse, like Tunisia. However, in the case of Egypt, there are two distinctive eras to be highlighted. Firstly, from the reign of Muhammad Ali till the end of Nasser Egypt has been economically advanced which allowed it to cope with the international dictations to an extent. Such independence, particularly with the advancement of the national industry during Nasser’s role, was one reason behind the assault on Egypt in 1967. Secondly, from Sadat’s reign onward the economic discourse was more influenced by the political realm and the international relations formed by the new international order, especially after the end of the bipolar system marked by the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In 1991, Egypt signed the Structural Adjustment Program with the International Monetary Fund that let Egypt start with rapid procedures of privatization and currency adjustments that, in my perspective, marked the end of Egypt’s independence over its economy (Harrigan and El Said, 2014). Also, I should state that the first loan was done under Sadat in 1986 to abate the consequences of inflation. The other two loans were under Mubarak, whereas a fourth loan was sought under Mursi but was not obtained, and the fifth is occurring now under President Sisi’s reign. Surprisingly, all the loans have never flourished the Egyptian economy, but rather they complicated the economic status. For example, after receiving the loan of 1991 Egypt has suffered dramatically from the social and economic effects on poverty in 1996 and 1995 (El-Saharty, Richardson and Chase, 2005).
In conclusion, the political structure of the Third World countries is the main referent object in the political equation. The relationship between the state and the rest of the society and institutions does always revolve around the political interest of the regime in the first place. In the worst-case scenario, the interest of the state has reduced the interest of the elite. As for the social factors, there is a direct relationship between the state and gender, religion and economy. I would say everything is utilized for the sake of the state that would be analyzed and interpreted by World Systems theory or the interdependence school. I would also mention that dependency theory does play a major role in the political structure, and mentioning its implication – the role of the neoliberal ideology- was more important in the context of the case study to avoid redundancy. Finally, I think the current domination of the political structure backed by the neocolonial agendas will lead to sabotaging the third world countries and will help in creating a new international system where the neo-colonized countries will determine the future map of the world.
References
El-Saharty, S, Richardsom, G & Chase, S (2005). Egypt and the Millennium Development Goals: Challenges and Opportunities. Washington DC, World Bank.
Fahmy, k. (2010). All the Pasha's Men: Mehmed Ali, his Army and the Making of Modern Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press
Farah, N. (2009). Egypt's Political Economy: Power Relations in Development. American University in Cairo Press.
Goldstein, A. (1991). From Bandwagon to Balance-of-power Politics: Structural Constraints and Politics in China, 1949-1978. Stanford University Press. pp. 29–34.
Harrigan. J and Hamed El-Said. (2014). Economic Reform, Social Welfare and Instability: Jordan, Egypt , Morocco, and Tunisia, 1983-2004. The Middle East Journal 68.1. PP: 99-121.
Haniogly, M. (1995). The Young Turks in Opposition. Oxford University Press.
Kenny, J.T. (2006). Muslim rebels: kharijites and the politics of extremism in Egypt. New York: Oxford University Press.
Reid, R. (2012). A History of Modern Africa: 1800 to the Present. U.S: John Wiley and Sons.
Research on the Economic Participation of Women in Egypt. The Social Research Center. (June, 2016). The American University in Cairo. Retrieved from:http://www1.aucegypt.edu/src/wsite1/research/research_economicparticipation.htm
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