

Egypt is a country where those with gavels are often more powerful than those with guns and contestants speak in legal language.

Constitutions are supposed to constitute political authority, but in Egypt, political authorities are helping draft the constitution from which they will draw their own future authority.

However damaging the violence and shrill the rhetoric, the current round of fighting between Gaza and Israel is likely to be anything but decisive. The most likely outcome is a return to something like the status quo ante.

As the Obama administration moves into its second term, it makes more sense to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that really exists rather than to pretend that there still is a "peace process" that only needs one more round of quiet talks to succeed.

Dominant party overreach following the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise is a greater threat to Egypt’s democracy than Islamist illiberalism.

The vague language of Egypt’s draft constitution is likely to pave the way for a long political struggle over the document’s true meaning.

The judiciary’s struggles are likely to feature unexpected iterations of the older concerns over autonomy and authority.

For all the procedural flaws, the document that is emerging as Egypt's potential constitution offers prospects for a working democracy.

Whether American leaders regard the events of the past few days as a teachable moment or a moment of truth is not yet clear. If steady hands and far-sighted leadership prevail, the first approach will dominate.

Egypt’s best hope for a democratic transition depends heavily on the process of political reconstruction contained in the constitution-writing process.