Steven A. Cook

Since Recep Tayyip Erdogan took power, the world has watched closely to see if Turkey would become more democratic or more autocratic. Yet it is doing both simultaneously, and the incongruity is threatening its international standing.

Cook concludes that although Egypt’s future remains very much in doubt, the United States should “take a hands-off approach as Egyptians build a new political system on their own terms.”

Many Egyptian military officers and some civilian politicians are interested in replicating the so-called Turkish model for Egypt, in which the military would play a leading role in guiding society and politics. But such a strategy is a poor fit for the country.

With the political era of Hosni Mubarak coming to an end, is the strategic relationship between Cairo and Washington similarly finished? The Obama administration must scale back its ambitions to affect change in Cairo.

This article appears in the Foreign Affairs/CFR eBook, The New Arab Revolt.

The return of Mohamed El Baradei to Egypt has raised questions about the country's political system and the rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Is reform possible, and if so, is El Baradei the man to lead it?

This article appears in the Foreign Affairs/CFR eBook, The New Arab Revolt.

Bruce Rutherford’s Egypt After Mubarak is an ambitious effort to explain how the Muslim Brotherhood, the judiciary, and the business sector can work in parallel, if not exactly together, to influence Egypt’s political future.