the consequences of economic liberalization on ruling elite`s formation in Arab Republic of Egypt

The start of the Arab developments in 2011 sheds new light on discussions about the conditions and requirements for the survival of political systems in the West Asian region and North Africa. These developments undermined the idea that sustained authoritarianism in the Arab world is a general principle. Political science scholars have always sought to explain the flexibility of authoritarian systems in the region through a variety of approaches including the institutional approach, the power of repressive forces, cultural factors and rent availability. But the developments in 2011 showed that some Middle Eastern political systems could not be sustainable, which is why some political systems in the Arab world failed to survive in 2011 compared to other political systems in the region. To answer this question, the present paper examines economic liberalization policies in Egypt as a case study, and concludes that the implementation of these policies in Egypt has led to a split within the ruling elite coalition, especially among the emerging economic class (new guards) and the military, which challenged the ruling regime's ability to survive in 2011.