AnnaJensen

Period2/3
5/4/15
BonapartismEssay

France,17891799,Egypt,20112014,twoimpactfulrevolutionswithextremely
similaroutcomes.NapoleonBonaparteandAbdulFattahelSisi,tworulershundredsofyears
apart,butwithalegacythatsquitethesame.Giventhesimilaritiesandgiventhatabonapartist
figureisadictatorwhoarisesattheendofarevolutionandusestheidealsofsaidrevolutionto
maskhisownpower,wecanconcludethatAbdulFattahelSisiisabonapartistleader,forthree
reasonsBonaparteandelSisibothusedthenationalreligiontobenefitthemselves,elSisiand
NapoleonBonapartebothputoutacodethatconstructedorderoutoftherevolutionarychaos,
andlastlyBonaparteandSisirefusedtocalltheiractionsacoup.
elSisiandNapoleonBonapartebothputoutatypeofcivilcodethatconstructedorder
outoftherevolutionarychaosandcreatefreedomandequality.Asstatedinthearticle
Napoleon
intheCountryside
TheRevolutionhadintroducednewdecrees.About15,000ofthem,which
dramaticallyalteredexistinglawThepurposeoftheCivilCodewastomakeorderoutofthese
confusedlegaciesofthepastThesamelawswouldnowapplyequallytoallcitizens.
Napoleonattemptedtocreateequalityandstructureunderthenewgovernment,inordertocreate
afollowingofpeoplewhofeltequalandsafeunderhisrule,andtostartalegacythatappeared
asifhewasdoingtherightthings.WeseethesamethingwithPresidentelSisi,GeneralSisi
calledfortheformationofatechnocraticgovernmenttoadministeraffairsduringthe
transitionThegeneralsaidthattheconstitutionalcourtwouldsettherulesforthe
parliamentaryandpresidentialelections,andthecourtwouldalsoputforwardacodeofethics

toguaranteefreedomofthepressandachieveprofessionalismandcredibility(ArmyOusts
EgyptsPresident).fromthisarticleitseemsasifelSisiwasattemptingtodothesamethingas
Bonaparte,onlythistimehewascreatingafollowingbeforeheranforpresident.Butanattempt
atlookinglikethegoodguywasn'tallthesetwoleaderhadincommon.
BonaparteandSisi,refusedtocalltheiractionsacoup,theytriedtojustifytheiractions
ashelpingthepeopleandthegreatergood.Napoleonputsoutaspeech,
JustifyingtheCoupof
Brumaire
,sayingOnmyreturntoParisIfounddivisionandagreementononlyonetruth,
thattheconstitutionwashalfdestroyedandcouldnolongersavelibertyTheCouncilof
Eldersgavemeresponsibilityoforganizingtheforcenecessaryforitsindependance.I
believeditmydutytomyfellowcitizens,tothesoldiersperishinginourarmies,andforthe
nationalgloryacquiredatthecostoftheirblood,toacceptthecommand.Napoleonapparently
feltthatitwashisdutytotakeoverandfelttheneedtorefrainfromcallinghisactionscoupeven
thoughworldwidemostpeopleconsiderthemtobeone.Mr.Morirejectedthegeneral's
actionsasacompletemilitarycoupThegeneralsbuilttheircaseforinterventionina
carefullyorchestratedseriesofmaneuvers,callingtheiractionsaneffortatnational
reconciliationandrefusingtocalltheirtakeoveracoup.(ArmyOustsEgyptsPresident).From
prisonExPresidentMohamedMorsiwasthefirsttostatethatSisisactionswereinfactacoup,
butthearmyquicklyshutdownhiswaysofexternalcommunicationanddeniedthefact.
BonaparteandSisibothusedtheircountry'smainreligionfortheirownbenefit.
AlthoughBonapartehimselfwasCatholicandelSisiwasaMuslimtheyaffectedthenational
religioninwaysthatwouldgivethemthemostfollowersandsupporters.Themosttelling
aspectofBonapartistnormalizationinthecountrysidewasthereturntoreligiouspeaceafter

theConcordat.Churcheswerereopenedandreligiousfestivals,pilgrimagesandceremonies
resumedtheirtraditionalrurallife(NapoleonintheCountryside).Napoleonreinstatedthe
nationalreligiongainingthesupportofmultiplegroupsofpeople,whereSisididsomething
different.elSisioutlawedtheMuslimBrotherhoodthenewgovernmentinstalledbyGen.
AbdulFattahelSisiprovidedthelatestsignalthatitwasbreakingtheoldrules.Securityforces
armedwithautomaticrifleshunteddownthesupremeguide[Thesupremeguideistheheadof
theentirebrotherhood],MohamedBadie,70,inanondescriptapartmentwherehehadtaken
refuge(AnEgyptArrest).elSisi,althoughamuslimhimself,didnotlikeislamists,acategory
inwhichthebrotherhoodfallsdirectlyunder.AlotofpeopleagreedonSisiopinion,sojustlike
Napoleon,Sisiusedthepeoplesopinionsofthenationalreligiontobenefithisownpowerand
following.
Bydefinitionabonapartistfigureisadictatorwhoarisesattheendofarevolutionand
usestheidealsofsaidrevolutiontomaskhisownpower.AlthoughelSisiisnotanexactclone
ofBonaparte,thefactsseemtoleadtohimbeingabonapartistfigure.

GreatjobAnna.Thisisprobablythebestessayyouvewrittenallyear.
47/50