The resurgence of protests and clashes with police in Cairo and other Egyptian cities this week is more significant than the mass rallies that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak nine months ago. That’s because this week’s events touch on the heart of the problem of the mediocrity of the modern Arab world and its tattered states: the exaggerated role of the military in public life.
The striking differences between the January-February demonstrations and this week’s events are important to grasp for understanding what is happening in Egypt and the Arab world. The January-February demonstrations were largely non-ideological and lacked sharp political focus, reflecting as they did a widespread demand to get rid of the Mubarak regime and allow Egyptians to practice freely their rights as citizens and human beings. Today’s protests are very different, because they have a sharp ideological focus that actually demands policy changes, namely the military’s turning over power to legitimate civilian authorities.
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