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Yezid Sayigh is a senior fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where he leads the program on Civil-Military Relations in Arab States (CMRAS). His work focuses on the comparative political and economic roles of Arab armed forces, the impact of war on states and societies, the politics of postconflict reconstruction and security sector transformation in Arab transitions, and authoritarian resurgence.
Yezid Sayigh is a senior fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where he leads the program on Civil-Military Relations in Arab States (CMRAS). His work focuses on the comparative political and economic roles of Arab armed forces, the impact of war on states and societies, the politics of postconflict reconstruction and security sector transformation in Arab transitions, and authoritarian resurgence.
Previously, Sayigh held teaching and research positions at King’s College London, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Oxford. From 1998–2003, he also headed the Middle East program of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Sayigh was also an adviser and negotiator in the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks with Israel and headed the Palestinian delegation to the multilateral peace talks on Arms Control and Regional Security from 1991–1994. From 1999, he provided policy and technical consultancy on the permanent-status peace talks and on Palestinian reform.
Sayigh is the author of numerous publications, including most recently Throwing Down the Gauntlet: What the IMF Can Do About Egypt’s Military Companies (April 2022); Retain, Restructure, or Divest? Policy Options for Egypt’s Military Economy (2022), Praetorian spearhead: The role of the military in the evolution of Egypt’s state capitalism 3.0 (2021); Owners of the Republic: An Anatomy of Egypt’s Military Economy (2019); Dilemmas of Reform: Policing in Arab Transitions (March 2016); Crumbling States: Security Sector Reform in Libya and Yemen (June 2015); Missed Opportunity: The Politics of Police Reform in Egypt and Tunisia (March 2015); The Syrian Opposition’s Leadership Problem (April 2013); Above the State: The Officers’ Republic in Egypt (August 2012); “We serve the people”: Hamas policing in Gaza (2011); and Policing the People, Building the State: Authoritarian transformation in the West Bank and Gaza (2011). He is the author of the award-winning Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993 (Oxford, 1997).
In an interview, Yezid Sayigh argues that a recent IMF loan to Egypt did little to reduce the military’s role in the economy.
While the United Arab Emirates is highlighting female participation in the armed forces, the reality is somewhat different.
For Egypt to deliver on its economic projects, the tentacles of military retirees in the state bureaucracy must be cut.
Three targeted recommendations would help transform the military economy in Egypt.
There are three major reasons why Egypt should review the large role its military plays in the economy.
Spot analysis from Carnegie scholars on events relating to the Middle East and North Africa.
Spot analysis from Carnegie scholars on events relating to the Middle East and North Africa.
Russia, Turkey, and Qatar have presented a trilateral initiative on Syria, but it’s who is included that matters more.
Armed forces throughout the Middle East prove that military affairs are too important to be left to the officers alone.
Egypt’s closing of the inquiry into the Regeni murder is Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi’s way of avoiding challenges from within.
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