Egypt Uprising of 2011

Beginning in December 2010, unprecedented mass demonstrations against poverty, corruption, and political repression broke out in several Arab countries, challenging the authority of some of the most entrenched regimes in the Middle East and North Africa. Such was the case in Egypt, where in 2011 a popular uprising forced one of the region’s longest-serving and most influential leaders, Pres. Ḥosnī Mubārak, from power.

The first demonstrations occurred in Tunisia in December 2010, triggered by the self-immolation of a young man frustrated by Tunisia’s high unemployment rate and rampant police corruption. Rallies calling for Pres. Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to step down spread throughout the country, with police often resorting to violence to control the crowds. As clashes between police and protesters escalated, Ben Ali announced a series of economic and political reforms in an unsuccessful attempt to end the unrest. Demonstrations continued, forcing Ben Ali to flee the country. The apparent success of the popular uprising in Tunisia, by then dubbed the Jasmine Revolution, inspired similar movements in other countries, including Egypt, Yemen, and Libya. (See also Libya Revolt of 2011.)

In Egypt, demonstrations organized by youth groups, largely independent of Egypt’s established opposition parties, took hold in the capital and in cities around the country. Protesters called for Mubārak to step down immediately, clearing the way for free elections and democracy. As the demonstrations gathered strength, the Mubārak regime resorted to increasingly violent tactics against protesters, resulting in hundreds of injuries and deaths. Mubārak’s attempts to placate the protesters with concessions, including a pledge to step down at the end of his term in 2011 and naming Omar Suleiman as vice president—the first person to serve as such in Mubārak’s nearly three-decade presidency—did little to quell the unrest. After almost three weeks of mass protests in Egypt, Mubārak stepped down as president, leaving the Egyptian military in control of the country.

Although protesters in Egypt focused most of their anger on domestic issues such as poverty and government oppression, many observers noted that political change in Egypt could impact the country’s foreign affairs, affecting long-standing policies. Central elements of Egypt’s foreign policy under Mubārak and his predecessor as president, Anwar el-Sādāt, such as Egypt’s political-military alignment with the United States and the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, embraced by Egypt’s leaders but unpopular with the Egyptian public, could be weakened or rejected under a new regime.