The Egyptian Iron Fist of Oligarchy

In Why Nations Fail, Acemoglu and Robinson talk about the "iron fist of oligarchy." Under this notion, new leaders replace old ones, promising radical change, but at the end of the day, the new leader brings nothing but more of the same extractive institutions that existed under the previous ruler. In Egypt, President Mohamed Morsy was the first democratically elected president following the absolutist rule of Hosni Mubarak. Amrou Kotb writes in Egypt and the Death of Liberalism, that liberals in Egypt demanded Morsy's resignation as they believe Morsy "used his electoral victory as a free pass to enforce an authoritarian style of government which denied its people basic human rights, supervised an increase in sectarian violence, and prioritized a regional Islamist agenda over the basic needs of the Egyptian people."

Morsy put his own wants, needs, and desires, over those of the people of Egypt. The lack of inclusiveness in Egypt will keep the Egyptian people from ever experiencing democratic freedoms and rights that exist and nations such as the United States. Kotb writes, "An Egypt which serves the interests of Bread, Freedom, and Social Justice cannot exist without a pluralistic society participating in an inclusive democracy."The extractive institutions in Egypt run by a minority of the population, prohibit the nation from prospering politically and economically.