event
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

The Military and Politics: The Cases of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, and Sudan

Tue. May 28th, 2019
Beirut, Lebanon

The armed forces have been a central political player and the real locus of power in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, and Sudan for the past 60 years.

The Carnegie Middle East Center held a panel discussion that examined the likely trajectory of military politics in these four countries and the implications for genuine political transition. Will the scale of social crisis and structural economic challenges prompt the armed forces to seek an exit from governing?

In Egypt, few political or social interlocutors remain with whom a military withdrawal can be negotiated, limiting the scope for orderly transition. Libya faces the return of strongman rule by another general. In Algeria and Sudan, conversely, political parties and civil society organizations are pivotal actors, but are they capable of preventing yet another restoration of military rule, whether direct or indirect?

SPEAKERS

Younes Abouyoub is the head of governance and state building at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and is an expert on Libya. He has formerly served as political adviser to the UN special representative of the secretary-general.

Dalia Ghanem is a resident scholar and expert on Algeria at the Carnegie Middle East Center.

Yezid Sayigh is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, where he leads the program on Civil-Military Relations in Arab States (CMRAS).

MODERATOR

Mohanad Hage Ali is a fellow and the director of communications at the Carnegie Middle East Center.

Political ReformNorth AfricaSudanEgyptLibyaAlgeria
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Younes Abouyoub

Dalia Ghanem

Senior Resident Scholar, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Dalia Ghanem was a senior resident scholar at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where her research focuses on Algeria’s political, economic, social, and security developments. Her research also examines political violence, radicalization, civil-military relationships, transborder dynamics, and gender.

Yezid Sayigh

Senior Fellow, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Yezid Sayigh is a senior fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where he leads the program on Civil-Military Relations in Arab States (CMRAS). His work focuses on the comparative political and economic roles of Arab armed forces, the impact of war on states and societies, the politics of postconflict reconstruction and security sector transformation in Arab transitions, and authoritarian resurgence.