Political liberalization in Egypt: The impact of external actors

Among the factors such as political culture (including Islam), civil society, and political economy that both enhance and hinder the political liberalization of Egypt, the external actors namely, the USA and the EU seem to play a significant role in this process. Although both actors through the aid programs, bilateral agreements, direct grant programs, partnership initiatives, international financial institutions, association agreements, action plans, and neighborhood policies seem to be working very hard to promote political liberalization and democratization in Egypt, they keep failing in this process.Actually, rather than promoting political liberalization in Egypt, by hindering the process, they are enhancing the political de-liberalization in the country. Why do the USA and the EU despite their enthusiastic efforts to enhance political liberalization in Egypt do not succeed? ?is the main question this research. In an attempt to resolve this question the thesis will analyze the issue through two approaches of the comparative politics, the structural approach and the rational choice theory. The thesis will first analyze the structure of the aids given by the USA, particularly the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and the structure of the EU?s decision-making mechanisms by concentrating on the conflicting foreign policies of the member states. Then it will analyze the rational choices made by the two main actors, the USA and the EU?how they are making their choices among a group of alternatives given to them.Keywords: Egyptian politics, political liberalization, democratization, democracy promotion, external actors, EU, USA, structure, rational choice.