• Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Middle East logoCarnegie lettermark logo
LebanonIran
{
  "authors": [
    "Michele Dunne"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Arab Awakening"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North Africa",
    "Egypt"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Economy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

Egypt’s Turbulent Transition

Restoring the kind of stability that would allow the Egyptian government to make clear economic decisions is going to require not just a government in control, but also a government that has a lot more consensus.

Link Copied
By Michele Dunne
Published on Dec 17, 2013

Source: Council on Foreign Relations

“Egypt is in, I believe, a very prolonged process of change and we really don’t know how things are going to come out,” said Carnegie’s Michele Dunne at the Council on Foreign Relations’ roundtable discussion on Egypt’s transition. Restoring the kind of stability that would allow the government to make clear economic decisions, Dunne argued, is going to require not just a government in control, but also a government that has a lot more consensus. In order to revive the economy more broadly and bring back investment, Dunne said Egypt will need greater stability.

Egypt’s security services were never reformed since Mubarak left, Dunne added, and have been reinvigorated and re-empowered in carrying out significant abuses without much control. She contended that the policy that Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the current government are pursuing will not lead to stabilization, noting that the current crackdown will engender more violence and demonstrations, as the country lurches from crisis to crisis, economic and political.

This discussion was originally published at the Council on Foreign Relations.

About the Author

Michele Dunne

Former Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Program

Michele Dunne was a nonresident scholar in Carnegie’s Middle East Program, where her research focuses on political and economic change in Arab countries, particularly Egypt, as well as U.S. policy in the Middle East.

    Recent Work

  • Research
    Islamic Institutions in Arab States: Mapping the Dynamics of Control, Co-option, and Contention
      • +6

      Yasmine Farouk, Nathan J. Brown, Maysaa Shuja Al-Deen, …

  • Research
    From Hardware to Holism: Rebalancing America’s Security Engagement With Arab States
      • +8

      Robert Springborg, Emile Hokayem, Becca Wasser, …

Michele Dunne
Former Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Program
Michele Dunne
Political ReformEconomyNorth AfricaEgypt

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.

More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    When Football Is More Than Football

    The recent African Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco touched on issues that largely transcended the sport.

      Issam Kayssi, Yasmine Zarhloule

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Unpacking Lebanon’s Gap Law

    In an interview, Ishac Diwan looks at the merits and flaws in the draft legislation distributing losses from the financial collapse.

      Michael Young

  • Article
    Rethinking Power-Sharing Agreements in Libya

    The UN Support Mission in the country should reassess its approach so that consensus between the warring parties becomes the eventual goal, rather than a procedural matter that dogs the negotiating process at every turn.

      Soraya Rahem

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Has Sisi Found a Competent Military Entrepreneur?

    Mustaqbal Misr has expanded its portfolio with remarkable speed, but a lack of transparency remains.

      Yezid Sayigh

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Women, Water, and Adaptation in Ait Khabbash

    The burden of environmental degradation is felt not only through physical labor but also emotional and social loss.

      Yasmine Zarhloule, Ella Williams

Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
Carnegie Middle East logo, white
  • Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.