Summary

After long being the center of the Arab cultural and political world, Egypt’s power and influence has declined in recent decades. Since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, which was led by the urban middle class, the country’s regional status has taken a major hit. Furthermore, domestic political and economic issues now constrain Egypt’s once-dominant position. Cairo is no longer able to fend for its own political economy – a situation that is unlikely to be reversed in the foreseeable future.

Once the leader of the Arab world and...