Egypt under Mubarak

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Egypt plays an extremely significant role as one of the major powers in the Middle East. Egyptian force in the Arab world stems from the strength of its cultural life which makes it extremely difficult to be ignored. The book, “Egypt under Mubarak” features essays from seven different authors, which examine the causes and consequences of the many crises Egypt has faced. Mubarak comes into power taking upon himself the previous Egyptian political, sociological, and economic problems left by Sadat and Nasser. The present administration attempts to fix these problems by employing Egypt's significant resources in the forming of a distinct and effective international role.

Vice President Hosni Mubarak succeeded Sadat as president. After Sadat was assassinated, Mubarak took upon himself not only regular presidential duties, but also many political crises and conflicts that were already at hand needed to be addressed. Mubarak’s rule has been based on a low key, business-like style, which, in addition to its reputation for integrity and clean-handedness, was quite cautious and reserved in its approach to issues and problems.

Mubarak promised to stress stability in foreign policy and to advance the Egyptian economic condition. One of his first acts was to release the politicians who Sadat had jailed. While maintaining Egypt’s close ties with the United States, Mubarak also pursued closer ties with other Arab countries and kept his distance from Israel, thus avoiding potential conflicts with the nation, unlike his predecessors. By 1987 most Arab states had restored their diplomatic ties with Egypt; it was readmitted to the Arab League in 1989 and the league's headquarters was moved back to Cairo.

Within Egypt, the government continue...

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...cause most they focus primarily on fact rather than opinion, the material tends to be dry and hard to read. When looking for book reviews, I found only two which were extremely short and did not even address the content. Even when I tried to check websites like Amazon, there were zero results. My guess is that there have been improved, up to date books written about Mubarak.

I am sure many recent books have been published on the same topics which are easier to read. The wording used in these essays is a little tough, probably because three of the writers are Arabic writers who may have had their work translated, therefore losing the flowing effect of the words. If someone was reading about Mubarak and Egyptian policy out of interest, I would definitely tell them to find another book, especially since the hard facts from this book I am sure are used in newer ones.

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