ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Summary There is a great debate underway in Egypt on whether the move to oust President Mohammed Morsi is tantamount to a military coup. Considering that the Egyptian army is forcibly removing a democratically elected president in the wake of nation-wide unrest, the military intervention is indeed a coup. However, it differs from other coups in that direct military rule will not be imposed. Analysis There is a great debate underway in Egypt on whether the move to oust President Mohammed Morsi is tantamount to a military coup . Considering that the Egyptian army is forcibly removing a democratically elected president in the wake of nation-wide unrest, the military intervention is indeed a coup. However, it differs from other coups in that direct military rule will not be imposed. There is considerable public support for Morsi's removal, so the provisional authority that will replace him likely will be a broad-based entity that includes representatives of the nation's main politi...

Arab Spring Timeline Year JUL032013 Egypt: Constitution Will Be Temporarily Suspended, Army Head Says The Egyptian Constitution will be temporarily suspended and the constitutional court head will run state affairs, army head Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said July 3, Al Arabiya reported. JUL032013 Egypt: Army Tells Morsi That He Is No Longer President The Egyptian army informed Mohammed Morsi that he is no longer the president, Ahram reported July 3. JUL032013 Egypt: Military 'Roadmap' To Include For New Elections, Constitution Suspension, Parliament Dissolution The Egyptian military's "roadmap" for the country's political future will involve dissolving the parliament, suspending the constitution, and calling for new presidential and parliamentary elections, BBC reported July 3. JUL032013 Egypt's Atypical Military Coup A military coup is not the outcome the army wanted. JUL032013 Egypt: Troops Movements Reported In Suez, Sinai Some 20 armored vehicles and per...

Analysis The deadline attached to the Egyptian military's ultimatum expired July 3, and it appears the military is removing President Mohammed Morsi from office to begin the plan that it leaked to the press on July 2. Morsi gave a defiant speech last night , saying that he would not give up his electoral legitimacy -- essentially forcing the military to choose between intervening and removing him directly or reaching some kind of compromise. It appears the former is in the process of happening, though it is still possible that the military could be engaging in a show of force to dramatically increase pressure on negotiations. The military could be using this brinksmanship to get the Muslim Brotherhood to adopt the "road map" the military released for the political future. Al Masry Al Youm reported earlier that Muslim Brotherhood and Wasat party leaders had been banned from leaving the country and that it was likely the Egyptian intelligence service was involved in enfor...