FRAGILE POLITICS OF THE PRO-SISI ALLIANCE IN EGYPT: NASSERIST STATE LEGACY WITHIN NEOLIBERAL CONTEXT

Year 2014, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 92 - 117, 01.07.2014

Canan Şahin

Abstract

Former general Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi won the presidential elections held on 26-27 May with 96.1%. The electoral victory of Sisi, the former head of SCAF and the leader of the coup d’etat, against Hamdeen Sabbahi, a Nasserist candidate, cannot be fully grasped without an analysis of the three-year period ensuing the overthrow of Mubarak. The SCAF-supervised transition period after Mubarak, Morsi’s presidency with an accompanying disillusionment and the coup preceded by a massive popular protest not only contributed to the polarization of Egyptian politics along the Brotherhood and anti-Brotherhood lines but also provided evidence for the resilience of Nasserism with its institutional and ideological legacy. Replacement of demands for bread, social justice and equality with that for security was reflected in the pro-Sisi campaign with a nostalgic Nasserist iconography. The pro-Sisi alliance, composed of the remnants of the old Mubarak regime, the military and middle-class laicist-nationalists, seems to be residing on a rather fragile ground unless the first cluster of demands for justice and equality are met. The political legitimacy that Muslim Brotherhood seems to be gaining due to its victimized position, the unmet demands of the working classes and the economic pressures might produce a destructive dynamic for the seemingly prevalent Sisi phenomenon. This article discusses the dynamics of the polarization as well as the potential lines of fracture in Egyptian political scene with a special emphasis on the impact and the constraints of Nasserist legacy

Keywords

Middle East, Military, Coup, Revolution, Egypt, SCAF Supreme Council of Armed Forces , Al-Sisi, Nasserism, Hamdeen Sabbahi.

SİSİ YANLISI İTTİFAKIN KIRILGAN SİYASETİ: NEOLİBERAL BAĞLAMDA NASIRCI DEVLET MİRASI

Abstract

Mısır’da 26-27 Mayıs’ta gerçekleşen Cumhurbaşkanlığı seçimlerini eski general Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi %96.1 gibi yüksek bir oranla kazandı. Eski SCAF başkanı ve cuntanın lideri olan Sisi’nin Nasırcı bir aday olan Hamdeen Sabbahi karşısındaki zaferi, Mısır siyasetinin Mübarek devrildikten sonraki üç yıl boyunca geçirdiği süreçler göz ardı edilerek anlaşılamaz. Mübarek sonrası iktidarı devralan askeri yönetim, arkasından Mursi’nin Cumhurbaşkanı seçilmesi ile oluşan hayal kırıklığı ve akabinde gelişen darbe, Mısır siyasetini Müslüman Kardeşler ve karşıtları olarak kutuplaştırmakla kalmadı. Bu süreç 1952’de iktidar olmuş Nasırcılığın kurumları ve ideolojik mirasıyla farklı düzeylerde siyasette belirleyici olduğunu gösterdi. Ekmek, sosyal adalet ve eşitlik taleplerinin yerini alan güvenlik talebi nostaljik bir Nasırcılık ikonografisiyle Sisi’nin teröre karşı mücadele vaadine eklemlendi. Eski rejim unsurlarının, generallerin ve laik-milliyetçik formasyonuna dayanan orta sınıfların oluşturduğu Sisi yanlısı ittifak, devrimin başlangıcından beri sokak ve işyeri mobilizasyonunun esas motoru olan ana talepler karşılanmadıkça kırılgan bir zemin üzerinde hareket etmeye devam edecekler. Müslüman Kardeşler’in idam, tutuklamalar gibi baskı araçları karşısında zihinlerde kazandığı mağduriyet kaynaklı meşruiyet, Mısır işçi sınıfının ve yoksullarının karşılanmamış talepleri ve ekonomik kriz, Mısır’da bugün baskın bir biçimde hakim görünen Sisi fenomeni için yıkıcı bir dinamik yaratabilir. Bu makale Mısır’da var olan kutuplaşmanın ve olası kırılmaların dinamiklerini Nasırcı mirasın etkilerini ve kısıtlarını sorunsallaştırarak tartışmaktadır

Keywords

Orta Doğu, Ordu, Darbe, Devrim, Mısır, SCAF Silahlı Kuvvetler Yüksek Konseyi , Al-Sisi, Nasırcılık, Hamdeen Sabbahi.

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