Bullets Beat Ballots

Abstract

After classifying the military’s involvement in politics in the Arab region according to four historical models, Omar Ashour focuses on Egypt, an example of what he calls the ‘dominant institution’ model. Here, he aims at explaining the series of political stances the army took in the wake of the 25 January 2011 uprising. The Egyptian military’s decision to oust elected Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July 2013 presents a major puzzle, given the fact that the army’s interests were not being directly threatened under Morsi’s rule. Ashour shows that this move can only be properly understood by taking into consideration organizational and psychological factors.