The Egyptian army’s dismissal of President Morsi’s government is being spun by some as a continuation of the revolution which overthrew decades of military backed rule by the corrupt Mubarak regime.
But usurpation of a democratically elected government is not just wrong in principle, but highly unlikely to deliver the sort of democracy for which the large crowds in Tahrir Square have been clamouring. With its embedded power in Egypt’s bureaucracy backed up by US stipends, history suggests that Egypt’s army is more likely to use its powers to defend its privileges, not uphold democratic values.
Perhaps of more cause for concern though, recent remarks on Egypt by the US administration have been widely interpreted as signaling support for the army’s unconstitutional action.
All this coup by any other name definitely achieves therefore is to cede some moral high ground to the Muslim Brotherhood. It will also boost the view of political Islamists that the US supports democracy except when it does not like the result.
This is not to say that the recent protests against Morsi’s government were not genuine or popular. Nor is it to disregard the Muslim Brotherhood’s authoritarian outlook which is hostile to Egypt’s civil society and religious minorities.
But it should have been left to the ballot box to expose Morsi’s failings, not an army backed coup.