When Tahrir Square in Cairo was teeming with revolution early this year, the world watched intently. Geopolitics hadn't been shaken so fundamentally since 9/11. The regime of Hosni Mubarak had held onto Egypt for thirty years, offering stability in the beginning, then a long, slow decline.
This year's uprising may not have been predictable, but as Steven Cook writes in "The Struggle for Egypt," it was inevitable. A fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Cook has just published a timely modern history of Egypt – from the pride of the Arab world to a stagnant and corrupt state. What happened in those years? How did American foreign policy play a role?
It was only 60 years ago that Gamel Abdel Nasser and his military cronies seized power and led a popular resurgence of Egyptian nationalism. The reforms continued into the 1960s, tested finally by the 1967 war with Israel. Anwar Sadat inherited a weakened military and government but ultimately became a statesman on the global stage.
The New York Times review of Cook's new book says it does "an excellent job telling the story of Sadat's daring trip to Jerusalem, which quickly and unexpectedly led to the Camp David accords – a peace treaty almost universally reviled in the Arab world, including Egypt.
With that one move, Sadat managed to become the darling of the West, while sacrificing almost all his domestic support." His assassination led to the ascent of Hosni Mubarak, who wouldn't take the same risks. The security state grew without the added consolation of stability and economic growth. Cook argues foreign aid, particularly from the U.S., fueled a flawed relationship between Cairo and Washington.
WEIGH IN:
Will history repeat itself? Egypt's military has been shepherding the new reforms. When will they hand over power? What kind of leader was Mubarak in the 70's? What changed? How did the rest of the Arab world view Egypt throughout the 20th century?
Guest:
Steven A. Cook, author of "The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square" (Oxford University Press). Cook is the Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also author of "Ruling But Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria and Turkey."