A sweeping account of Egypt in the modern era: what Egypt is, what it stands for, and its relation to the world.

Experts from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution propose a new, nonpartisan Middle East strategy drawing on the lessons of past failures to address both the short- and long-term challenges to U.S. interests.

A critical examination of how the legacies of military control in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey affect political development in these countries, highlighting the often-overlooked difficulties of promoting democratic change in military-dominated political systems.

Steven A. Cook writes, "As America's new secretary of state arrives in Cairo, it's still not clear the United States knows what it's dealing with."

The Egyptian uprising presents a rare opportunity for the United States to resolve the tension between its strategic priorities in the Middle East and its desire to support democratic change in the region. Washington's past approach to aiding Egypt was based on relations with authoritarian leaders who could be counted on to advance the United States' interests. With the fall of Hosni Mubarak and Egyptian efforts to build a more open political system, a policy based on "authoritarian stability" is no longer possible, and the United States is now forced to alter the way it appropriates and distributes bilateral assistance.

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Its economy is in terrible condition and state authority is apparently breaking down. It's time to contemplate an intervention by Egypt's military, says CFR's Steven Cook.

Though the results of Israel's recent election point to the creation of a new and potentially more conciliatory government, Steven A. Cook says tensions between Jerusalem and Ankara run too deeply for a single election to make much difference.

Steven A. Cook says, "This is a critical moment in Egypt's transition; Morsi and his colleagues would do well to recognize that, rescind the decrees, and commit themselves to the democratic process. At this point, it is the only way for the Brothers to burnish their revolutionary credentials."

Thanks to the rift between Turkey and Israel, Ankara's days as a power broker in the Arab-Israeli conflict are over, says Steven A. Cook.

Steven A. Cook says Gaza's radiating instability proves once again that Palestine is at the center of the region's problems.

Steven A. Cook says leadership in the Middle East is up for grabs as the Syrian war intensifies, the Arab Spring changes regional power dynamics, and Israel's airstrikes and Hamas rockets again roil Gaza. Last year, Turkey was the assumed role model for the region. But it has fallen down on the job.

Following Turkey's decision to authorize military action against Syria, CFR's Steven Cook highlights three reasons why tensions are unlikely to escalate to war.

Steven A. Cook says the news may look grim, but the United States is poised to remain the dominant power in the Middle East.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's visit to Iran signals a shift in his country's foreign policy away from Washington's influence, which, paradoxically, could have some positive upshots for the United States, says CFR's Steven Cook.

President Morsi's reshuffling of top military ranks rebalances political power toward the civilian regime but may unsettle minorities who had hoped the military would check the power of the Muslim Brotherhood, says CFR's Steven Cook.

Steven A. Cook says Egypt's new president, Mohamed Morsy, is outsmarting the generals, looking to be "much more than the weak transitional figure the SCAF has sought to make him."

Steven A. Cook says Egypt's feared domestic enforcer is dead, but not the regime he left behind.

Steven A. Cook says Mohamed Morsi's victory in Egypt's presidential election puts Islamists in control an office that was once the exclusive province of the military, but asks whether Sunday's Tahrir Square celebration was premature.

Steven A. Cook says that regardless of whether the June 17 decree by Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was in fact a military coup, precedent in Turkey in Algeria shows that officers' interests are safeguarded, and society as a whole will pay.

Steven A. Cook says that as Hosni Mubarak lies on his deathbed, he leaves behind a broken Egypt.

Regardless of the outcome of the presidential runoff elections, the Egyptian military is seeking to assert control to protect its privileges, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

The Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court's decision to dissolve parliament has "thrown Egypt into turmoil once again," threatening the upcoming presidential election runoff and the hopes of the country's sixteen-month-old revolution, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

Egypt's next president is likely to be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood or a Mubarak-era figure. Either way, U.S. ties are likely to cool, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.