The Fall of Democracy in Egypt

Mohammad Morsy, Egypt's first democratically elected President, was outed in a military coup on Wednesday after being given 48-hours by the Egyptian Army to share power with his opponents. Morsy is a Western educated Islamist, his organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, was a long repressed organization under Hosni Mubarak.

Barely one year after being elected to head Egypt, Morsy became increasingly unpopular. His slow introduction of conservative policies inspired by the ideologies of the Muslim Brotherhood also angered most Egyptians, who thought he was sidelining opposition figures as he tried to consolidate more power and insert Muslim Brotherhood influence deeper into Egyptian political life. His increasing autocratic policies have also galvanized many secular Egyptians into action. On one occasion, a satical tv comedy figure was even jailed for "insulting the president."

Although I am no fan of Morsy, I see his illegal ouster as a sign of bad things to come. His removal will further embroil Egypt deeper into the morass of political infighting, economic uncertainty and social upheaval. This is something that will add to the deepening chaos that the Middle East has always been in, and at these times, is into even more deeper quagmire. Repercussions could be profound, as Islamists will see this as a fight between the forces of Islam and the secular-Western inspired policies of liberal democracy.

The fall of Morsy also clearly shows that democracy is not as easy to transplant as most Westerners would like to believe. Democracy is an idea, an idea born of the long struggle of Western civilization from the clutches of despotism, religious fanaticism and even social iniquities to the political awakening engendered by the French Revolution. It takes an educated populace, a committed elite and a resilient society to make democracy work. Democracy is not the mere holding of elections, it is a worldview, a worldview which consists in the belief that over and above all else, the rule of law reigns supreme, that the will of the people is paramount and that social and state institutions must be strong and must be strengthened for the seed of democracy to grow. In addition, it has to be watered by an educational system that is pragmatic, pro-active and one that cultivates critical thinking, rationality and openness.

Indeed, the Philippines, more than any Asian country, despite holding elections since the 1940's, has yet to truly understand, appreciate and make democracy truly work. How then can we expect Egypt to fare better?