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How to Lose Power in One Year!! Egypt's Morsi June30th 2012- July3rd 2013

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Mohamed Morsi
Mohamed Morsi
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C.W. Mills (1963,p.25) "Men are free to make history" but some men are indeed much freer than others."

This quote explains how subtle the concept of power is. It is a concept that is so much interconnected to other factors and it is so changeable that intricate and there is no such a thing as a formula that you can follow in order to have power.

The concentration of power differs from one nation to the other, and there are some distinct differences even within the same division in one country. C.W. Mills explains that the power dynamics in the USA is concentrated in political, military and economic institution, and the other sub powers, family, religion and education are shaped by the big three.

This mapping of the power factors shaping the USA according to C.W Mills is helpful in understanding the dynamics of power in a country like Egypt and other countries as well. It is crucial to decide in which institutions power is concentrated and how this is displayed and overlapped with other sub powers. Understanding this map could illustrate power diagram in Egypt. Egypt has been ruled directly and indirectly by the military since 1952.

In order to understand How Muhamed Morsi ( 1951- ---) lost power in just one year, one has to understand the dynamics of power in a country like Egypt, that Morsi himself could not grasp. Muhamed Morsi only stayed in office from June 30th 2012 till July 3rd 2013

The effective players in the political scene in Egypt are the military, the police and businessmen. The sub powers are the Muslim movements including the MB, and the Salafis, the liberals, the intellectuals, the young people, Christians and ordinary people.

The military has been in power since 1952. They have a lot of economic power. The president has always been from the army since 1952. Many governors are either from the army or the police. They hold many influential positions in the local councils as well as the ministry of foreign affairs.

There are many business tycoons that control much of the economy. Many of them control the media. They own newspapers and satellite channels. They try to lead the public opinion directly and indirectly towards the attitudes and approaches that can best serve their interests. It is clear that the economic factor is directing and leading the sub powers, the masses and the young people.

The power diagram is overlapping considerably. It is hard for any single power factor to monopoly the whole situation. There is evidently interdependence and interconnectedness that create a subtly intricate network. When president Morsi came to power, he had to deal with all these entangled, interconnected, interrelated factors. Throughout the period he spent in office he started testing the water, and had a very cautious start.

In October 2012, Morsi decided to terminate the Public Attorney, his decision was unconstitutional, and he had to retreat the decision under pressure from the judges. In February 2013 the Supreme Constitutional Court terminated the people's assembly term due to a flaw in the legal procedures of the elections, the majority were Muslim brotherhood and Salaphi parties, they represented 67%. Morsi cancelled the ruling of the SCC in March 2013. However, he retreated the decision and deferred to the SCC ruling. The first power conflict came into existence so early. He did not realize that the old regime was still in control in many institutions. It is not that simple, the new president cannot just replace the old regime with a new one. It is true that Mubarak had to leave in 2011, yet the policies, the rules, and the culture that have been accumulated since 1952 cannot be erased once a new president took over.

When it came to the economic situation. It is so hard to separate doing business in Egypt from politics. Many of the influential businessmen had close relations with the Mubarak regime. The economy, in some areas, was flourishing under Mubarak regime. According to Reuters Egypt GDP growth seen in 2010 was 5.8- 6%, yet there was a problem in distribution of this growth rate. When Morsi came to power, Hassan Malek, a Muslim Brotherhood influential figure, started to have a basic role, he started a new project called "Ebdaa" or "Begin" where he excluded some of the influential figures of the old regime as well as those who are not in agreement with the new regime.

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An Egyptian Writer. Writing at Egypt Independent. Al Masry Al you,, author of the book " From the beginning it was Freedom" A Global Council Trustee of United Religions Initiative.
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