From ‘People’s Revolution’ to ‘Democratic Elections’: U.S. Foreign Policy towards Egypt
From ‘People’s Revolution’ to ‘Democratic Elections’: U.S. Foreign Policy towards Egypt

Summary/Abstract: Political protests and demands for changes in the region of Southwest Asia and Northeast Africa, the so-called ‘Arab Spring’, are the biggest challenge faced by the U.S. foreign policy during the presidential term of Barrack Obama. The Egyptian revolution from the beginning of 2011 is the clearest example of the ‘awakening of the people’ and is one of the few that truly arose from dissatisfaction of Egyptians. The United States seemed to be caught completely unprepared by the revolution. In only a couple of days, the White House made a shift from supporting President Mubarak to openly supporting the opposition parties. Even after the fall of Mubarak, the Obama administration did not fully grasp the complexity of the situation in Egypt. Democracy, contrary to the expectations of many in Washington DC, could not take root overnight. The power and the influence of the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ were underestimated. The consequences of the US policies toward Egypt, contributing to the escalation of crisis in this country, can still be felt today. At the same time, the American diplomacy no longer appears to have the same amount of influence in the land of the Sahara and the Nile.

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