Egypt Beyond Authoritarianism: Factors and Backgrounds

This article studies the root causes of the extensive changes that led to the toppling of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Following three decades of Mubarak's authoritarian rule, Egyptians who lost their hope in removing him from power through legal mechanisms in the framework of the existing structure resorted to a public revolt. In fact, major changes in Egyptian society and increase in public awareness - especially among the youth - drove this revolt. It took only 18 days for the Egyptians to bring down Mubarak. The extensive changes that Egypt has experienced since early 2011 are not the natural product of one or two internal or external factors. In this article, the author mostly addresses the internal factors responsible for the fall of Mubarak. However, foreign issues such as the downgrade of Egypt's regional status are mentioned. The timeframe in this article covers the years leading to Mubarak's fall, specifically from 2005 to 2011. However, the author makes some references to earlier periods when explaining factors affecting the abovementioned changes.