The Egypt Model

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TODAY'S PAPER | AUGUST 07, 2023
The Egypt model

Umair Javed | Published August 7, 2023 | Updated about 5 hours ago

https://www.dawn.com/news/1768827/the-egypt-model 1/14
8/7/23, 2:49 PM The Egypt model - Newspaper - DAWN.COM
The writer teaches politics and sociology at Lums.
0:00 / 6:47 1x 1.2x 1.5x

IN his book, Ruling Oneself Out, sociologist Ivan
Ermakoff makes an important distinction between
‘surrender’ and ‘abdication’. Surrender refers to
an unwilling decision imposed because of external

constraints, such as a loss on the battlefield.
Abdication, in Ermakoff’s words, suggests: “It is
surrender that legitimises one’s surrender. It
implies a statement of irrelevance. When the act is
collective, the statement is about the group that
makes the decision. The group dismisses itself. It
surrenders itself and agrees to do so, thereby
justifying its subservience.”
The book was written almost two decades ago. The case it
built its theory of abdication on was the Reichstag’s
transfer of its own authority to Hitler on March 23, 1933,
gutting democracy and, ironically, the Weimar constitution
that gave parliament its supreme power.
This type of abdication is an extreme case from 90 years

ago. But one doesn’t have to squint too hard to see some
similarities, with events taking place in Islamabad in 2023.
After all, legislators in Pakistan’s National Assembly are
also willing to abdicate their own authority in front of
another power.
Among the fire sale of hasty legislation this past month,

there have been several pieces (some proposed, some
passed) that expand or bring various issues under the

domain of the security agencies. This includes changes to
the Army Act as well as proposed amendments to the
Official Secrets Act and laws dealing with media regulation.
Coupled with the draft bill on data protection and older
legislation such as Peca and its social media rules, the past
few years have been one of increased securitisation,
surveillance, and control, largely by the security
establishment.
The pace at which we are

heading towards a new order
suggests that at least part of it
is being driven by external
factors.
The pace at which domains of governance are formally or

informally being handed over to unelected institutions by
ostensibly elected representatives has picked up
considerably over the past few months. What we are seeing
is a complete reconfiguration of the way both political and
economic power is exercised in this country, towards

something approximating the Egyptian model.
The signs of this reconfiguration have been around for

some time. When a dispassionate review of the political
transition from Musharraf’s exit onwards is ultimately
written, it will become more apparent that the actual
window of democratic opportunity existed only between
2008 and 2011. It was during this time that the 18th
Amendment and the seventh NFC award were cleared,
expanding the rights of smaller provinces and settling
resource conflicts as old as the country itself. This was also
coupled with greater space for critique through
mainstream media and civil society, which faced far fewer
restrictions compared to today.
From 2012 onwards is when the realisation started to set

in, in terms of just what exactly had been given away in a
comparatively small time frame. Since then, every
successive year has seen various attempts at enhancing
control in some form or the other.
Securitisation of everyday life, such as through check-posts

and spatial restrictions, took place because of the rise in
terrorist militancy. Media control was first seen to be
exercised informally by interventions of the military’s

media wing and then more formally through regulatory
overreach, which saw channels being taken off or coerced
at will. Social media control was enshrined through Peca,
accompanying social media rules, and direct control over
the telecommunications authority (PTA). Rights-based civil
society was muzzled through arcane registration
requirements housed at the Economic Affairs Division, all
passed under the pretext of FATF compliance.
Politically, the PTI and judicial interventions provided an

integral ally to limit the power of the older mainstream
parties, which ultimately found its fruition in the first
hybrid model of 2018-2021. And finally, once that same-
page wilted, a comprehensive model was reinstalled from
2022 onwards, leveraging the desperation of the older
parties — the PML-N in particular — that otherwise face
near-certain electoral demise.
The last remaining frontier had been hands-on

management and governance of the economy. If the past
few months are any indication, this domain is poised to be
conquered as well. The Special Investments Facilitation
Council enshrines the role of the military high command in
not only apex policymaking but also implementation of
targeted government-to-government commercial

transactions. Along with the corporate farming initiative,
and recent discussions about minerals and natural
resources, the stage is set for some pretty drastic changes
in how economic governance is carried out in this country.
The pace at which we are heading towards a new political

and economic order suggests that at least part of it is being
driven by external factors. Maybe, there is pressure from
the Chinese, or the Saudis, or the Emiratis, all of whom
have been cited as having an interest in various sectors.
Maybe, they would prefer to work with a centralised state
with little space for the political messiness that has so often
characterised Pakistani democracy. But maybe, that
preference is also being used as a pretext to take more
control anyway.
Either way, there are a few more things that are worth
watching out for, which may be under threat of this
‘reconfiguration’ exercise currently underway. The first is
the administrative rights of provinces and the jurisdictions
that were granted under a federal Constitution through the
18th Amendment. Pakistan has a history of centralised
authority during periods of unelected/non-democratic rule
and it seems we are approaching something similar once

again.
The second one, linked to the first, is the state of federal

government finances and the fiscal transfers to the
provinces. This has long been a bone of contention, but
cross-party resistance from the smaller provinces has so far
prevented any change to the arrangement that was agreed
upon 13 years ago. If this hybrid arrangement morphs into
something far more direct, then these too would be at risk.
The writer teaches politics and sociology at Lums.
Twitter: @umairjav
Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2023

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8/7/23, 2:49 PM The Egypt model - Newspaper - DAWN.

TODAY'S PAPER | AUGUST 07, 2023

The writer teaches politics and sociology at Lums.

0:00 / 6:47 1x 1.2x 1.5x

an unwilling decision imposed because of external

This type of abdication is an extreme case from 90 years

Among the fire sale of hasty legislation this past month,

passed) that expand or bring various issues under the

The pace at which we are

The pace at which domains of governance are formally or

economic power is exercised in this country, towards

The signs of this reconfiguration have been around for

From 2012 onwards is when the realisation started to set

Securitisation of everyday life, such as through check-posts

exercised informally by interventions of the military’s

Politically, the PTI and judicial interventions provided an

The last remaining frontier had been hands-on

targeted government-to-government commercial

The pace at which we are heading towards a new political

and it seems we are approaching something similar once

The second one, linked to the first, is the state of federal

The writer teaches politics and sociology at Lums.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2023

A grand Worsening Rehashing

Sparx Smartphones Revolutionising

DAWN NEWS ENGLISH YouTube 971K

Legislative spree: So Is US President Editorial: Handover of Institutionalising

Into the unknown Poor police funding Child agony

Updated 06 Aug, 2023 06 Aug, 2023 06 Aug, 2023

No surprises Filers and non-filers Rapacious mining

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