The ousting of President Mohammed Morsi has produced intense domestic and external dynamics capable of producing different possible scenarios. Some are talking about the reshuffling of the cards at the regional level because of the centrality of Egypt in the Arab world and the Middle East. Until the dust settles, one could say the Egyptian question is taking the place of the Syrian one on the front burner of regional politics. Some consider that what the army conducted was a soft coup d'état. Others, still standing by a narrow definition of democracy, consider it a typical coup d'état. Yet others have started to move away from that position and adopt a more nuanced one, linking their changing position to how fast and successful the civilian-led democratic transition will be.
Nevertheless, the Morsi regime failed to score well on the democratic register. The shaping of a custom-made Muslim Brotherhood regime from day one, the conduct of the affairs of the state and the dealing with minorities and opposition, as well as the exclusive approach, to power are all examples of this failure. The most important example remains the huge mass rallies against the regime and Morsi’s refusal to take into consideration this new reality. The total absence of a badly needed developmental socio-economic strategy in Egypt is another example of this failure.
