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Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has assumed additional presidential powers, leading to protests largely led by non-Islamic groups.
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.
The new Egyptian constitution is surrounded by controversy over who should write it, when it should be drafted, and which principles and values it should embody. With a draft already published, debate is as intense as ever.
Dominant party overreach following the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise is a greater threat to Egypt’s democracy than Islamist illiberalism.
Egypt’s draft constitution proposes a semi-presidential system that risks creating an extremely powerful executive branch.
The absence of favorable conditions for establishing a weapons of mass destruction free zone in the Middle East presents significant challenges.
Egypt is inching closer to normal politics. Secularists will be forced to compete directly with Islamists for popular support to gain power or become a viable opposition.
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.
Changing the US-Egypt aid relationship will prove fraught with complexity given the difficult history.
The judiciary’s struggles are likely to feature unexpected iterations of the older concerns over autonomy and authority.
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