Tuesday, March 29, 2011

24/03 Will Egypt's Youth Movement Be Pushed Aside?

March 24, 2011

Introduction

Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved a set of constitutional amendments in last weekend's referendum, paving the way for parliamentary and presidential elections in the next four to six months.

But many liberal reformers and youth activists oppose that swift timetable, arguing that early elections would give an extraordinary advantage to Mubarak's old political party and the Muslim Brotherhood, which have strong organizational structures and would move to centralize power. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who met with Egyptian military leaders in Cairo on Thursday, urged them to give new political groups more time to organize.

Can the youth movement and those pushing for greater reforms be fairly represented in the upcoming elections? What does that movement need to do to form a viable coalition?

Read the Discussion » Debaters

Fears of Losing the Revolution
Kristen Stilt, Northwestern University

The Youth Influence Remains
Ellis Goldberg, American University, Cairo

Join Forces With Existing
Parties Emad Shahin, University of Notre Dame

Becoming a Viable Force
Steven A. Cook, Council on Foreign Relations

Stepping Up to the Challenge
Mona Eltahawy, columnist ..

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