Certain steps can be taken to remedy Tunisia’s broken conscription system.
Yasser El-Shimy is no longer with the Carnegie Middle East Center.
Yasser El-Shimy was the co-director of the Program on Civil-Military Relations in Arab States at the Carnegie Middle East Center. He is a Middle East analyst and scholar, who has worked at U.S. and Europe-based think tanks, including the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the International Crisis Group (ICG). He earned his PhD from Boston University in international relations and comparative politics. His most recent research focuses on the roles of the military and the Muslim Brotherhood in the failure of Egypt to democratize between 2011 and 2013. El-Shimy is currently an adjunct professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University. El-Shimy previously worked in the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Certain steps can be taken to remedy Tunisia’s broken conscription system.
While the Middle East’s central battle line is changing, Egypt is pursuing a strategy of opportunism that aims to maximize its returns and preserve its options.
Cheap oil is hurting Egypt’s economy in the short term and could have wider political consequences.
In the military’s view, Egypt has not met the fate of Syria or Libya, and that by itself is an accomplishment worth celebrating. Politics should and must wait.