Militaries have played significant roles in the transition from authoritarian regimes to more democratic political systems. Most of these transitions took place during the seventies and eighties in...Show moreMilitaries have played significant roles in the transition from authoritarian regimes to more democratic political systems. Most of these transitions took place during the seventies and eighties in South Europe and Latin America. They often started with cracks within the ruling party, which ultimately led to a gradual transition towards the installation of another regime and in most cases to some form of democratization. Based on those empirical examples a few key indicators predicting the behaviour of a military in transitions can be distinguished. An institutionalised military, which is not directly involved in the administration apparatus and which position has been backed by a legal framework have been found willing to shape the transition period to a more democratic system. During the transition the civilian authorities should guarantee the military certain prerogatives in order to keep it satisfied. An end of the transition period is reached when an effective and strong civilian government is installed which is able to execute civilian oversight over the military. The recent popular uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East were not gradual and caused an abrupt regime change in several Arab countries. Only in Egypt the military took a leading role in the transition. This thesis shows that also in the case of Egypt the nature of the military as an institutionalized military, not directly involved in the day to day governing, made it very resistant to any form of democratization. In the three proposed constitutions since the 25 January revolution the military has demanded and granted itself extensive prerogatives and annulled any form of civilian oversight. This will make it very difficult for any future civilian leader to execute civilian oversight over the Egyptian military.Show less
