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  "authors": [
    "Robert Kagan",
    "Michele Dunne"
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    "Political Reform",
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Commentary

U.S. Policy Toward Egypt—A Primer on the Upcoming Elections

Egyptian parliamentary elections later this year and an imminent presidential succession will play an enormous role in determining whether one of the Arab world’s most important states and one of America's most crucial allies undergoes long overdue political, economic, and social reforms.

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By Robert Kagan and Michele Dunne
Published on Sep 21, 2010
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Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

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Egypt is nearing a critical turning point. Parliamentary elections later this year and an imminent presidential succession will play an enormous role in determining whether one of the Arab world’s most important states and one of America's most crucial allies undergoes long overdue political, economic, and social reforms.

The Working Group on Egypt, a nonpartisan group of experts from Washington’s leading think tanks and advocacy organizations, attended a closed-door staff briefing hosted by the office of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Michele Dunne of the Carnegie Endowment and Robert Kagan of the Brookings Institution addressed the current state of play in Egypt, how the coming elections will impact the U.S.-Egyptian relationship, and outlined the policy options available to members of Congress.

About the Authors

Robert Kagan

Former Senior Associate

Kagan, author of the recent book, The Return of History and the End of Dreams (Knopf 2008), writes a monthly column on world affairs for the Washington Post and is a contributing editor at both the Weekly Standard and the New Republic.

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.

Authors

Robert Kagan
Former Senior Associate
Robert Kagan
Michele Dunne
Former Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Program
Michele Dunne
Political ReformDemocracyMiddle EastNorth 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.

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