Ambiguous morality

The simple answer is that only through elections can an elected government be removed. In that sense, the Egyptian military has violated the constitutional order of the nascent democracy.

However, in this case the moral dimensions of the coup are more ambiguous than a simple military takeover, because the military acted upon a cue from the people, millions of whom took to the streets in demonstrations that were even larger than those that toppled longtime strongman, Hosni Mubarak.

With this in mind, the world should move forward with the goal of supporting the rapid establishment of constitutionalism for Egypt, this time addressing concerns of the secular opposition, in order to create a stable political order more immune to a repeat of Morsi’s spectacular rise and fall. The immediate problem of an Islamist backlash should be addressed with conciliatory gestures, especially with regard to executives of the Muslim Brotherhood. The rounding-up of Brotherhood figures and the arrest of Morsi are bound to fan continued sectarian hatred.

Furthermore, the protesters are in effect trying to claim a chance at rectifying what they saw as a rushed and Islamist-dominated drafting process for the constitution passed last year. Thus, if a government’s source of legitimacy derives from a constitution conforming to democratic values, the existence of the Morsi government got off to a shaky start. The constitution, drafted by Islamists, entrenches Sharia law and pays only lip service to the rights of women and minorities.

As many analysts have pointed out, Morsi bears responsibility for first not demonstrating competence in improving the economic situation of the people, and second for his actions that increasingly reeked of lust for power, most notably with a fiasco in November when he declared his decrees above judicial review. That overreach led to such a backlash that it was withdrawn, but the damage was done. Morsi also fired the country’s prosecutor-general, leading to a feud with the judiciary that led to showdowns in which judges went on strike.

Morsi allowed himself to become associated with radicals in matters that could have led to involvement in international conflicts. This spooked the armed forces, according to a Washington Post article by Michael Birnbaum. Two senior officials next to Morsi called for a possible attack on Ethiopia, and Morsi showed up at a radical Sunni Muslim sermon denouncing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The reaction of the US – a generous supporter of the Egyptian military, with its annual US$1.3 billion in aid – has betrayed its ambivalence to stated values of democratic governance. The geopolitical arrangements in its interest include firstly the security of Israel, and then second, building a network of alliances against Iran. US President Barack Obama refrained from using the word “coup” because he wanted to leave himself with space for continuing aid, as many have pointed out.

As a self-interested player, the US needs to think about how it intends to support a return to a constitutional order. And assuming that it decides to support the military-appointed transitional government – it appears to have no other choice – the long-term calculus of its relationship with the military is problematic. At the very least, the US should reduce the extent to which it supports the Egyptian army – a behemoth currently counting for some 30 per cent of the national economy.

Urgent action is needed, as blood is being shed on the streets of Egypt’s cities and its Sinai frontier, and extreme Islamists as well as the Brotherhood establishment call on supporters to challenge the revolution that toppled Morsi.

Morsi's failings have been many, but the critical question of how Egyptian democracy conforms to principles such as guarantees for the rights of minorities and women remains to be answered by any government that succeeds him. Adly Mansour’s transitional government had the apparent support of groups across the societal spectrum including the Coptic Church, a religious minority in Egypt. However, reports of a Coptic priest being shot dead raise qualms over how sectarianism can be quelled in post-Morsi Egypt.