In fact, at the present moment on the political map of the Arabian world there may be distinguished three models of the participation of the political parties in the political structure and the political life of the state. The first model is the formation of the new political regimes in the former republics of the pro-Western mode headed by the Islamic parties of the moderate type, such as Ennahdha in Tunis and the Freedom and Justice Party in Egypt. The second model may be exemplified by the political situation in Morocco, where after the victory on the parliamentary elections
the representative of the Islamic party of Justice and Development has been appointed as the prime minister. It is the new model for the Arabian world when the Islamic party of the moderate type is incorporated into the structure of the monarchical regime. It is also possible to make certain conclusions concerning the third model of the increasing impact of the moderate political parties, when such kind of a party becomes the center of all the oppositional structures in the countries with the dictatorial regimes. The typical example of these models is the political situation in Syria.
Nowadays on the huge territory of the Arabian world, there are the vast amount of the political parties of the moderate Islam. They conduct their activity on the huge territory upon the different social and political conditions, but all these parties have the similarities in the programs, principles and values.
The main country, the transformational renewal of which effects the whole policy of the region, is considered to be the Arab Republic of Egypt. On the elections to the Peoples Assembly – the lower house of the parliament, the Islamic parties have achieved the victory. As the result of the elections, these parties achieved almost two-thirds of the parliamentary seats. The political arm of the Egyptian Muslim Bothers – the Freedom and Justice Party obtained together with their allies nearly half of voices.
There are many different geopolitical, economical, sociocultural and religious factors, which effect the formation of the international policy of Egypt. The activation of the Egypts foreign policy in the 90s of the XX century were taking place in the circumstances where the economy of the country continued to be weak and the sources of its development were not numerous. The mainstay of the countrys items of incomes is connected with external environment and depends in a great manner upon the state of affairs in the international field.
The main socioeconomic indicators of the Arab Republic of Egypt reveal the serious problems confronting the government of the state. Egypt has the high unemployment and poverty figures. According to the official returns, the level of the unemployment in Egypt makes up 8-10%. Approximately half of the population of the republic- nearly 35 million people live below the poverty line, and 6 million of them live in the extreme poverty. At the same time there is a pressure of the international contributes on the government of the country with the purposes of the economic reforms activation, the deregulation of the economy, including the reduction of the control over prices, and the cancelation of the subventions.
The main purposes of the efforts of the Egyptian government are the modernization of the economy, the creating of the new vacancies, the improvement of the quality of life. These efforts of the government encounter with the problem of the high rates of the demographic increase. According to the specialists research, if the existing situation does not change, by the end of the 2030 the population of Egypt would increase twice.
One of the most developed branches of the economy of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the tourism. Moreover, the country is one of the leading oil exporter and the member of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC). The oil industry provides about 40% of the Egyptian returns from export and the oil recovery establishes the tenth of the whole GDP. The competitive ability of the Egyptian products is not so high. Possessing not so rich natural resources as compared with the countries of the Persian Gulf, the country is notable for its human resources. The major part of the high skilled workers are occupied abroad in the Arabian countries. It enables to ensure the currency inflow into the country by means of the money transmissions from the Egyptian citizens working abroad, and in a certain manner diminish the level of the unemployment. Many Egyptian citizens work in Saudi Arabia.
In spite the difficulties, the economy of the republic remains one of the most developed in Africa. The oil industry of Egypt is one of the biggest on the continent. Taking into consideration the dependence of the public purse from the external environment, the government of the republic, first of all the ministry of the foreign affairs, focuses its attempts on the engaging the foreign investment into the economy of the country, on the economic aid from the different financial institutions and also on the development of the modern technologies.
The key issue of the international policy of Egypt on the Arabian East was predetermined by the necessity to maintain the peace and stability in the region. Taking into consideration the intention of the Egyptian leaders for the strengthening their positions in different spheres of the foreign relationships, it is important to mention the membership of the republic in all the serious initiatives concerning the affairs of the Arabic world. Here it is possible to mention the attempts of the arrangement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the realization of the integrational projects, the safety and the security arrangements in the region.
The Islamic factor plays the important role in the formation of the international policy. Egypt is one of the largest countries in the world by the number of the Islamic population and one of the most recognized centers of the Islamic theology. Egypt makes its contribution to the support of the positive image of the Islam in the world, and promotes the extension of the Islamic cultural values.
The role of the non-state actors in the international policy of the state is also significant. One of the most well-organized and affluent political force in Egypt is the Muslim Bothers. Their political program and views coincide in many aspects with the majority of the democratic parties. The new generation of the Muslim Brothers consists mainly from the representatives of the intellectuals, many of them have the higher education.
The attitude towards this non-governmental organization in the Egyptian society is rather disputable. There are such citizens, mainly they are the representatives of the Christian community, who express anxiety because of the growth of the power and the extension of the influence of this organization. At the same time this organization is rather popular among the Islamists. It must be admitted that not so long ago in 2013 the activity of this organization on the territory of Egypt was prohibited by the Cairo administrative court. Together with the Muslim Bothers this prohibition was spread on all the non-government organizations related to it.
Speaking about the prohibitions it is necessary to mention the draft law, which enables the government bodies and the security agencies to put a veto power over the activities of all the associations in Egypt. This veto “would sound the death knell for the independence of these groups”. Among the non-government organizations, which are persecuted by the civil authorities, it is possible to mention the International Republican Institute, the Freedom House and the National Democratic Institute. They are charged with the receiving of illegal foreign financing and in the attempted assassination of the sovereignty of Egypt. The court processes perturbed the relations between Egypt and the USA.
In spite the recent political events in the country and many economic problems, Egypt strives for the increasing of its political heft in the contemporary Arabian world, and for the fastening the countrys leading positions in it. The major goals of the Egyptian international policy are the mediation in the Middle Earth peacemaking processes and the implementation of the security system, containing not only the Arabian countries, but also the neighboring states. On the current stage the strategic goal of the foreign policy of the Arabian Republic of Egypt is the political and economic strengthening of the countys positions in the Middle East and on the African continent.
Bibliography
“Egypt: Draft Law Threatens Independent Organizations“. Hrw. Web.
Mishali-Ram, Meirav. “Powerful actors make a difference: theorizing power attributes of non state actors”. International Journal of Peace Studies 14, no 2 (2009): 55-82. Web.
Sheila Carapico. “NGOs, INGOs, GO-NGOs and DO-NGOs. Making Sense of Non-Governmental Organizations“. Middle East Research and Information Project. Web.