Political transformations and social movements Developments and visions

Foreign Funding in Egypt after the Revolution

Mohamed ElAgatiBy Mohamed Elagati (03/04/2013) Working Paper fride In the aftermath of Egypt’s revolution, controversies over foreign funding to Egyptian civil society organisations (CSO) have become even more politicised. This has resulted in the prosecution of a number of international and Egyptian NGO workers. Because CSOs are a critical part of the democratic transition, the Egyptian public needs to engage in a transparent debate over the role of foreign funding. As a part of that process, this paper, based on a series of meetings carried out with local stakeholders in Cairo, examines the framework and the perception of foreign funding…

Egypt’s Revolutionary Youth. From Street Politics to Party Politics

Nadine Abd allaNadine Abdalla SWP Comments 2013/C 11, March 2013, 8 Pages The youth movement that led Egypt’s 25 January 2011 revolution is far from being demobilized today. It is currently undergoing an institutionalization process as several new political parties representing the youth are being founded. Indeed, political empowerment and inclusion of the youth in the democratic process are important for the success of the current transitional process. No less important would be for them to find a balance between street politics and conventional politics. Only then could the youth present a viable political force that is strong enough to effectively…

Parliament and the New Egyptian Constitution.. Executive Summary and Background

Adam Cygan ,Ali FathElbab ,Amr ElShobaki ,Georges Fahmi ,John McEldowney ,Karim Sarhan ,Mahmoud Kandil ,Mohamed ElAgatiExecutive Summary The challenge facing post-revolution Egypt is to draft a new Constitution which meets the aspirations of all Egyptian citizens and which provides a firm foundation to secure democratic and accountable government in Egypt. Following the fall of the Mubarak regime in January 2011, the process of Constitutional reform provides Egypt with an opportunity to make a break with past and address the inequalities and authoritarian behaviour which characterised the Mubarak regime. Yet despite these being the fundamental stated aims of the revolution, there…

Electoral Campaigns (Strategies and challenges)

Habiba Mohsen ,Mohamed ElAgati ,Nick Harvey ,Nick Sigler ,Rania ZadaEgyptThe book aims to discuss different strategies used in managing election campaigns, focusing on the case of parliamentary elections in 2011 and the way various political and party blocs stood for election amid the difficult circumstances during the transitional period that followed the January 25 Revolution. At the end of every chapter, an international expert in the field of election campaign management will set out a number of recommendations and summarize international experience in this field

Italy’s 2013 General Elections

Andrea TetiThese papers are the product of an internal seminar and are issued on a non-periodic basis. They reflect the opinion of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Arab Forum for Alternatives or any of its partners. The 2013 Italian elections mark a political shift comparable to the end of the ‘First Republic’ in 1994, which heralded the twenty years dominated by Silvio Berlusconi. In 2013, Berlusconi’s coalition lost over 16% of its support, the main leftist party fared little better, and increasing public anger at a political elite perceived as more brazenly corrupt…

Toward A New Parliamentary Elections Law

Amr ElShobakiEgyptIntroduction Laws should not be made especially for a specific political movement or power, except in systems that are authoritarian and oppressive. These laws are supposed to be written for the sake of the public good and the advancement of society. This is how we should address any ideas related to the new parliamentary elections law. Discussing a law benefitting the interests of either the secular current or the Islamist current must not control the process of forming the new electoral law.Such talk comes close to the old saying of “The lazy student’s pretext [for not doing his homework]…

The Proposed Law for Civil Associations and Institutions, 2013 A Model for Oppressive Laws and a Recreation of the Authoritarian System

Mohamed ElAgatiOn the eve of President Mohammed Morsi’s acceptance of the draft constitution, in his speech calling for a referendum on the draft, the Egyptian president limited three democratic pillars whose attainment had been one of the primary goals of the revolution. Those pillars are the judiciary, the media, and civil society. In this context, the government confronted us with a new civil associations and institutions proposal that can be described at the very least as a model for oppressive laws and as a proposal that would reinstate the outcomes of authoritarianism. The advisor in the Ministry for Social Solidarity…

New Constitutions for Turkey and Egypt Conflict and Consensus in Two Constitutional Traditions

Patrick Scharfe  As different as the two countries are, Turkey and Egypt both find themselves undergoing a fundamental reassessment of their political systems.  Most importantly, both countries confront the formidable task of re-writing their constitutions, even in the face of deep political divisions and distrust.  The two countries have a history of successive constitutions, all of which thus far have had a legitimacy deficit.  Today’s constitutional reform processes seek to remedy this deficit, although recent constitutional alterations made for this purpose have not, however, brought about the desired stability or legitimacy.  This year, two constitutional committees have been at work…

Conference Report on the future of Iranian-Egyptian relations, September 10, 2012

The Arab Forum for Alternatives (AFA) organized a conference entitled “The future of Iranian- Egyptian Relations”, which was held at the AFA premises on the 10th of September 2012. The session was presided by Dr. Amr ElShobaki, AFA’s president; and had as main speakers: Dr, Nevine Mossad, Political Science Professor at Cairo University, and H.E Ambassador Khaled Emara, the head of the Egyptian Diplomatic Mission to Iran. First Speaker: Dr. Nevine Mossaad (Political Science Professor, Cairo University) On July 30, 2012, Egypt moved to a second transitional stage. Will this stage represent a qualitative difference to what was before the…

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