Deep State in Egypt: From Revolution to Dictatorship

Objective: In the ensuing Egypt revolution on 25 January 2011, no one guesses the military dictatorship could turn back to power within the next two years. Political structure in Egypt since the 1952 Revolution that was won by the heading Free Officers Movement has tilted toward an oligarchic system. It is an intricate web of power that includes an integral part of the state such as the executive, parliament, the judiciary, the military and the rest. It is significant to be mentioned that the role of the military in manipulating political equations is so much striking than the others. In other words, the system of checks and balances has only been written as a part of the Constitution. Methods: Since the theoretical framework of the current essay is Historical Sociology (HS), its methodology relies on a crossover style. On the one hand, it follows the deduction manner; on the other hand, it pursues the induction one. Results: The power always has been in the hands of military men in spite of holding elections in Egypt within roughly the last seventy years. This situation that is not strange somehow in the Arab world is called the “deep state”. Conclusion: Although people in Egypt vote for electing their own representatives in parliament, power are concentrated in a particular group. Ostensibly, there is a power rotation but its result is not tangible. The portrayal of the deep state in this country than other states in the region has been remarkable following Arab uprisings. Muslim Brotherhood coming to power despite military antagonism, resisting the Supreme Constitutional Court to elected president and finally ousting Morsi's Administration by a military coup d’état on 3 July 2013 are only parts of the deep state role in the country during last years.