Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 05/2015

The Egyptian Armed Forces and the Remaking of an Economic Empire

Shana Marshall

April 2015

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Abstract

The Egyptian military has gained unprecedented power since overseeing the ouster of two Egyptian presidents, Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and Mohamed Morsi in 2013. With its major political rivals sidelined, more than $20 billion in Gulf aid, and widespread domestic support for General-Turned-President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Egyptian Armed Forces (EAF) has restarted its defunct industrial operations, secured control over massive infrastructure projects, and inserted generals at virtually all levels of government. But political overreach and internal rivalries may prove obstacles to long-term EAF control.