Since major protests started in Egypt on January 25, 2011, many of the country's problems have not only come to light internationally, but become more pronounced at home as well. As protests went on, long-standing grievances and social and labor demands suddenly exploded in the face of the government, and the collapse of the police and ever worsening security situation were only adding to the problem. Those who were associated with the regime of the former President Hosni Mubarak fell out of power, leading to the loss of many major economic figures.
Among Egypt's more pressing problems include their need to stabilize and expand the economy and government, as well as the long present water deficit. Because of this, I feel that Egypt's biggest challenge is an economic one that is tied deeply to solving the problems of the government. Some Egyptian politicians, analysts, and businessmen have responded to Western news station BBC along the lines of "I really do not know" when asked about current President Sisi's policies. So far, it seems that Egyptians will have to learn more about the President's motives, personality, and policies into the future. The problem, as I see it, isn't that Egyptians are uninterested in their new President and what actions the government will take: The revolution of 3 years ago made that much clear. However, after forcing President Mubarak out of power and President Morsi in 2013, it's remained hard to put faith in the government's actions.
Still, input into problems such as repairing infrastructure, working on the Suez Canal zone developing project, and stimulating the economy require government assistance to come to fruition. According to columnist Wael Nawara, by preparing and planning national projects, including work on the Suez Canal zone, would appeal to investment partners in the Gulf area and help strengthen Egypt's international relations with other Arab countries. If Egypt continues to rely on foreign aid without fixing its own problems, aid will eventually stop coming into the country and problems will continue.
In terms of how involved the U.S. should be, I think that we should be lightly to moderately involved in order to reestablish good relations with Egypt, but not to the point where they become dependent on our aid or to where they become suspicious of our motives. Current President Sisi has already said (regarding the U.S. and suspension of aid: "You left the Egyptians. You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won't forget that." So I have mixed feelings about what the U.S. should do. I think that because Egypt does need incorruptible leadership and money right now, it makes sense for the U.S. to try to offer help, but it's not that other countries and organizations are unable to do that, and combined with Egypt's past refusals to offer military aid in Afghanistan, if we try to collect on the aid offered to Egypt later, it could make relations worse between the two countries.
Some assumptions that the West seem to be making about Egypt is that President Sisi seems to be secretive, or at least not open enough to more clearly have others understand what he's trying to do, that his goals are too ambitious, and that the military is corrupt, inadequately trained, and arrogant. There is fear the the government might over reach with its powers, and a general concern for what will happen in Egypt concerning the power of the President and the power of Parliament.
Some things I want to know:
1. How closely do Egyptians follow the news, if at all? How easy is it to access political news or to share it?
2. Why, despite the high levels of support among the voters, did only around 30-40% of registered Egyptian voters vote during the last election? Were people unaware of the vote going on, were they unable to vote, was it not safe to vote, etc.?
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