Power of the Citizen

The Middle East is a region which is historically rich, culturally connected, and has been blessed with the most valuable resource in the world - oil, yet has been plagued with problems limiting the success of the region as a whole. After the introduction on Islam to the Middle East in the 7th century, the region moved out of Jaheeli and into a military and intellectual power which wasn't rivaled elsewhere in the world. Moving into the 19th and 20th century, the region experienced colonization which removed much of the progress in governance and society, setting the countries and people back several hundred years. Colonization meant the introduction of foreign government structures, and the removal of the existing systems which had worked for millenia. Ruling bodies and the systems which kept order, such as the ulema class, a religious body responsible for keeping the leaders in accordance with Islam, were removed or weakened severely. The underlying framework which all Arab nations lived under was Islam, and a fundamental piece of their society was destroyed, leaving space open for experimental types of government seen after the European powers left. The biggest factor was the extent to which the original system was reestablished, and hence has played out differently depending on which country is in question. Egypt and Morocco are two countries which have had widely different trajectories entering the modernization of the 20th century, with the type of governance being the largest factor influencing them.

To grasp the modern state of these countries, an understanding of their histories is paramount. Egypt has had limited independence for much of its modern history, with it being a part of larger empires since written history. Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Muslim Caliphates, Mamluk Caliphate, Ottoman Empire, Muhammed Alis Empire and most recently the British Empire. This has permeated the culture of the Egyptian people who have bits and pieces of each one of these ruling bodies. After the end of British rule in the early 20th century, the reestablished monarch was not widely accepted because of the Egyptians perception of him being placed on the throne by the British, and desire for true independence was wanted. This led to the July Revolution, and the power vacuum of its success has been filled by military leaders since. Morocco is a different story, largely because of its “soft” colonization which allowed for the Monarch to stay in power but with Protectorate status. After the removal of the French in 1956, the Monarch resumed full power and was widely approved by the Moroccan people because the king was never really expelled. This understanding of history is crucial to formulate the factors which have continued to influence this region.

This distinction between these two nations is the government which then ruled throughout the 20th century, and yielded largely different societies. This time period was marked by rapid modernization, which brought the quality of life up for humans but was also a destabilizing force in a lot of instances. Many of the luxuries brought on by industrialization had to be learned from Western nations, and along with this came the perspectives and ideas of these regions. The largest of these ideas was the concept of governance, and nations gaining independence needed a framework from which to design their country. Western countries had gone through the Liberal revolution in earlier centuries, led by intellectuals such as John Locke, Voltaire and Thomas Hobbes. These ideologies advocated for individual freedoms and choice, and governing bodies were kept in check by the people. The governed were responsible for determining their morals and what was right by their own evaluation, and used this to criticize or call out their leaders. However, when this system of Liberalism was introduced to the Arab countries, the combination of both Islam and Liberalism could not coexist as the society was deeply rooted in a religious tradition, but was lacking the religious scholars who were removed decades before. Without a monarchy or liberal democracy set in place, many of these countries fell into authoritarian governments, many of the countries being military dictatorships. Egypt was a primary example of this, with only military leaders leading since the fall of the monarchy in 1952.

The scope of which citizens influence the governing structure is then highly dependent on the system set in place, and therefore varies greatly between countries in the region. As the Moroccan political system is a constitutional monarchy, citizens do not have as large of a responsibility in choosing elected officials and laws being changed. This manifests itself in Moroccan citizens striving to make the change they can in their communities, such as giving and volunteering, as well as working alongside their neighbors in hopes to strengthen their local economy. Being a citizen means you have a responsibility to help your countrymen in any circumstances, and you can rest assured someone will help you when you are in need. There is also limited political involvement, which allows voters a way to bring about change by engaging. These differences are both products of the larger governing bodies but also the beliefs of the nations. For example, Morocco does not allow foreign nationals to become citizens and therefore keeps a “homogenous” Moroccan population. There is also the unifying force of Islam in Morocco, which without a doubt influences its people to help its neighbors and is actually key to being a good Muslim. In this sense being a good Muslim in a lot of ways translates to being a good citizen.

A very similar story is seen in Egypt, which has not historically let its citizens engage in the system, leading to change in communities being done by way of engagement and actual deeds. This has increased the responsibilities of the citizen to watch out for their countrymen, and has played out also in the form of revolutions. Egypt was infamous for its 2011 Arab Uprising, which led to the fall of the standing government in hopes for a democratic future. This was a grassroots movement led by the people driven by their dissatisfaction, and even without a process written into a constitution they relied on their fellow citizens to make the change they wanted. Unfortunately, this change did not succeed, and the elected body failed in governing and was eventually overthrown. Undermining this government was the bureaucracy which has a large role in governing the country. When Morsi rose to power in 2012, many of the people responsible for running the government at the local and regional level were distrustful of the government, and therefore destabilized the regime by not completing their duties. The Egyptian people realized their form of citizenship was to act in a way which was beneficial for the country, and in this case meant hitting the streets to protest or sabotage the government efforts in hopes that it will rally people to protest.

A very similar story is seen in Egypt, which has not historically let its citizens engage in the system, leading to change in communities being done by way of engagement and actual deeds. This has increased the responsibilities of the citizen to watch out for their countrymen, and has played out also in the form of revolutions. Egypt was infamous for its 2011 Arab Uprising, which led to the fall of the standing government in hopes for a democratic future. This was a grassroots movement led by the people driven by their dissatisfaction, and even without a process written into a constitution they relied on their fellow citizens to make the change they wanted. Unfortunately, this change did not succeed, and the elected body failed in governing and was eventually overthrown. Undermining this government was the bureaucracy which has a large role in governing the country. When Morsi rose to power in 2012, many of the people responsible for running the government at the local and regional level were distrustful of the government, and therefore destabilized the regime by not completing their duties. The Egyptian people realized their form of citizenship was to act in a way which was beneficial for the country, and in this case meant hitting the streets to protest or sabotage the government efforts in hopes that it will rally people to protest. The government is the largest factor when determining how the country will be run at a macro level, but its decisions really do permeate the micro of everyday life of the citizens. Citizens of a country all desire peace and prosperity, but in order to have those all the pieces need to be put in place by the larger powers calling the shots. This is why it is so important to have citizen input into the government, whether this is a democracy such as the one enjoyed in Tunisia, or whether it is a Monarchy such as Morocco where protestors were successful in reforming the parliament to gain more power for the voters.