Famous as the historic site of one of the great civilizations of the ancient world, Egypt has faced internal and external conflict in recent decades.Following territorial wars with Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973, Egyptian President Sadat embarked on a path toward peaceful negotiation, traveling to Israel in 1977 and then signing the Camp David accords and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty in 1979.
This marked a major change in the politics of the region, and Sadat’s approach faced opposition in his own country and in the larger Arab world. Egypt was expelled from the Arab League for a decade, and in 1981, Sadat was assassinated by Islamic extremists. Such groups have continued sporadic attacks in recent decades, including the targeting of resort areas and other tourist attractions.
Egypt has been an important actor in efforts to bring peace to the Middle East and to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict. President Hosni Mubarak hosted a number of high-level summits in the 1990s, bringing international stakeholders, including the U.S., together with regional leaders to advance the peace process.
Within Egypt, growing calls for political reform took on new life in 2011 as part of the larger Arab Spring movement. As the world watched, mass mobilizations led by young people in and around Tahrir Square in the capital city of Cairo, as well as in other places around the country, ultimately led to the resignation of long-time President Mubarak in February 2011. A military council replaced him as the interim government.
A referendum on constitutional reforms held in March 2011 passed by some 70 percent of the population, setting the stage for democratic elections for parliament in November 2011. Islamist parties took most of the votes. The presidential elections of May 2012 named Mohamed Morsi Egypt's first democratically-elected president. Meanwhile, that same month, the military dissolved the democratically-elected parliament and introduced a new constitution to increase its power and did less to curb presidential power than many observers had expected.
In June 2013, mass demonstrations against President Morsi began, ultimately leading to his removal as president in the first week of July. Violent conflict between the military and protesters who supported Morsi erupted in several urban areas in August.
In the May 2014 presidential elections, Adbel Fattah al-Sisi, member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) during the 2011 revolution, was named President. Al-Sisi is seen by some Egyptians as the strong leader needed to overcome the instability that has beset Egypt since 2011. Al-Sisi has pledged to confront the Muslim Brotherhood and agreed to form a joint military force to tackle regional security threats along with leaders from the Arab League.
In January 2015, Egyptians went to the polls again to vote on a new constitution – the third referendum since the 2011 uprising. The charter would replace the one crafted under the Morsi administration, which critics said was too biased in favor of Islamists. The new constitution is seen as an improvement that builds in more freedoms and provides a stronger role for the parliament vis-a-vis the position of the president. The primary criticisms are that it secures the authority of the military and that many of the freedoms guaranteed might, in the end, not be enshrined in legislation.
International observers note that the primary desire of many Egyptians is to see the government institute the much-needed social and economic reforms that inspired the 2011 revolution.
Egyptians are quick to emphasize that the goal of the average citizen is to see a steady, strong government that can lead to tangible improvements in everyday lives.Egypt continues in its struggle to define the terms of a democratic order. In the context of the transformation that has taken place since 2011 and its accompanying stresses, some persistent conflicts have been magnified—between religious and more secular actors, between labor and business, between women's groups and more traditional organizations, and between the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Sisi’s government. Religious tensions and the outbreak of clashes between Muslims and Christians highlight underlying divisions in Egyptian society and emphasize the growing importance of interfaith dialogue to prevent and manage such conflict.
