SJS3- After Mubarak, Mubarak?

Source: Shehata, Samer. "'After Mubarak, Mubarak?'" Current History, vol. 107, no. 713, Dec. 2008, pp. 418-24.

Author: Samer Sheheta is an Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Politics at the University of Oklahoma. He has taught at Colombia University, Georgetown University and the American University of Cairo. His research interests include U.S foreign policy with the Middle East and Egyptian politics, which shows his qualifications on the topic of Egypt and its politics.

Summary: This article mainly examines what is going to happen after Hosni Mumbaraks presidency ends. Shehata explains that Mubarak is close to the end of his fifth term, and that he is close to eighty years old, signaling the end of his close to three-decade presidency, and because of this, debate over who might succeed him has been constantly discussed any time he has had a health issues or problems. What Shehata discusses in depth in this article is the different scenarios that may transpire after Mobaraks death or end of presidency. The main candidates he talks about are Gamal Mubarak (Hosni’s son) and different military leaders. He says that Gamal has had political experience in Youth and Development Comitee and the National Democratic Party, which have made him a viable candidate. The only things that hold him back are his lack of experience with the military and his father being the president. The other candidate he discusses is Omar Suleiman, who is the director of intelligence for Egypt. He has strong ties to the military and is well liked by the public, making him a possible candidate too. Shehata also discusses the major obstacles the president after Mubarak is going to face, which include amending ant-terrorist laws, enhancing and reforming the economy and creating more jobs, all of which have been constantly proven as very hard things to accomplish. Shehata believes that whoever does become president is going to be faced with a multitiude of problems facing Egypt.

Analysis: Shehata makes a very strong argument that helps us understand the problems that Egypt and the future president are going to have. He adequately discusses why there is debate on who should be the next president and gives us likely candidates that can be future presidents. He also talks about the experiences of the candidates and the ways they can win the election. He provides a sufficient amount of evidence that helps us understand more about the candidates and their qualifications. He does distinguish between fact opinion by giving us the actual numbers, at the same time giving his take on the issue. He is a reliable source because of the experience he has and because of the different colleges he has taught at.