U.S.-Egypt relations focus on economic, not democratic, reforms

Ever since President Woodrow Wilson 1879 outlined his Fourteen Points for peace in the aftermath of World War I, the United States has championed the cause of worldwide democracy. But in actual policy-making, U.S. strategic interests have often trumped our normative commitments to participatory politics and human rights.

In 1919, Wilson rebuffed Egyptian nationalists' entreaties for independence from Britain. Further examples of the discrepancy between U.S. ideology and action abounded during the Cold War — from the CIA's reinstallation of Mohammad Reza Shah to Iran's throne in 1953 to Vice-President George Bush's praise of Ferdinand Marcos in 1981 for the Philippino dictator's "adherence to democratic principals and . . . democratic processes." Though both regimes were later overthrown by popular revolutions, these movements occurred despite U.S. involvement, rather than because of it.

Today, after U.S. ideology has emerged "victorious" from the Cold War, American support for democracy remains surprisingly sporadic as well as disconnected from the domestic undercurrents of many nations.

Perhaps nowhere is this contradiction more apparent than in U.S. relations with the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. While espousing the virtues of democracy for other countries, Clinton and Gore have consistently supported Mubarak's marriage of economic reform and political oppression.

But this summer, the Egyptian regime may have strained America's good faith when it arrested prominent human rights activist Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who holds dual U.S.-Egyptian citizenship. His case could give the United States a much-needed opportunity to align its policy with its pro-democracy rhetoric.

I met Dr. Saad — as his friends and colleagues know him — while studying at the American University in Cairo five years ago. Last summer, I asked him about the chance for democratic change in Egypt. He described the contemporary Egyptian system as a triangle of economic, social and political development. Economic reform has moved along, but Egypt must still develop its social and political dimensions by strengthening political parties and expanding civil society organizations.

Unfortunately, Dr. Saad's own experience demonstrated the chasm that stretches between the socio-political spheres and Egypt's much-applauded ascent toward a market economy. On the night of June 30, Dr. Saad was taken from his home and held for 45 days.

Though no formal charges were brought, he was arrested for allegedly producing a video encouraging voter turnout in Egypt's upcoming parliamentary elections.

After his release he remarked of the state prosecutors, "They've probably done more damage to Egypt's reputation than had been done in the last 20 years."

But in an ironic sense, Dr. Saad's arrest offers a long-awaited wakeup call for foreign policy makers, reminding U.S. leaders that steady support of a martial-law regime holds long-term consequences for Americans as well as Egyptians.

Al Gore, in particular, should give the matter close attention. Six years ago, he started the Gore-Mubarak initiative aimed at fostering market-oriented reforms for the Egyptian economy. But Gore and Mubarak's partnership in that arena has cloaked the arbitrary nature of Egypt's entrenched dictatorship.

As recently as March of this year, the two leaders met in Cairo and sang the praises of Egypt's economic growth during the '90s. But can the United States continue to link itself so snugly with a regime that brazenly imprisons political activists for encouraging the very political freedoms we support in all other corners of the globe?

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If Gore were to become president, would he favor a continuation of the programs he has actively led during the past six years? Programs like Gore-Mubarak, which focus on neo-liberal market reform while leaving activists and intellectuals such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim to wage an increasingly costly campaign for civil rights and political pluralism? Or would Gore use his ties to the Mubarak regime to map out an agenda of political reform that helps Egyptian activists recover from the setback of Dr. Saad's arrest and the chill it sent through Egyptian civil society?

As Middle East peace negotiations continue, the United States can build upon international security in the region with a forward-thinking approach to Egyptian domestic politics, something akin to our positions in Latin America and eastern Europe. The prospects are not bright, but if an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is reached, the United States could say to the Egyptian government, thanks for the help. Now shape up. Jason Brownlee is a politics graduate student from Raleigh, N.C. He can be reached at brownlee@princeton.edu.