Does Liberalism Have a Future in Egypt?

Can we imagine a future for politics in Egypt without liberals and liberalism? Egypt’s political community is diverse and pluralistic, with competing and overlapping presences across liberal, Islamic, Arab nationalist, and socialist persuasions, to name a few. The liberal stream needs to remain an integral part of Egypt’s political and social landscape. Yet, even after successive decades of the liberal experiment in Egypt, Egyptian liberalism has failed to attract a broad political and social currency, or infuse its ideas into the mindset of viable political parties. January 2011 provided a unique moment for liberals to cultivate key political capital, but this opportunity was regrettably squandered. Rather than gain political ground, or consolidate their presence by building durable institutions, liberals instead fell into fragmentation, entrenched themselves in conflicts with Islamist forces, and resorted to myopic identity politics, all of which coalesced into wholly unnecessary polarization of the Egyptian political landscape. As a result, liberal representation and performance in the post-January 2011 electoral process was dismal. Liberals continue to be viewed with suspicion, their role as a credible opposition increasingly suspect, particularly after their support for the military coup of July 2013.