Egypt's Problems as a Third World Country

This research examines Egypt's problems as a Third World country, with the exception that problems associated with international political relations are not considered. Considered specifically in this examination are (1) internal political problems related to Islamic fundamentalism, (2) cultural problems related to income disparity among the Egyptian population, and (3) economic problems associated with Egypt's external debt.

INTERNAL POLITICAL PROBLEMS RELATED TOISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM

The Islamic Revolution in Iran occurred in 1979. In the intervening eight years, much of the promise of the revolution for Iran has faded. The revolution has, however, wrought significant political and social changes within Iran, whether or not it has lived up to all its promises.

The Iranian revolution, however, is significant beyond the borders of Iran. The Shi'a branch of Islam is dominant in Iran, although it is a minority Islamic sect outside of Iran. Shi'a throughout the world, however, are united both by a shared interpretation of the faith, and by a shared feeling of persecution at the hands of other branches of Islam. Thus, the Islamic government in Iran conspires to undermine governments in all other Islamic countries who oppose it.

A favored way of attacking opposing governments is by operating through Shi'a population minorities in other Islamic countries. Through the guidance and support of these minority population groups, the Islamic government in Iran

Related Essays

Effect of Global Warming on Third World Nations .... lands supporting virtually all of Egypt=s agriculture .... monsoon patterns and add to the drought problems. .... food that sustains more than 100 Third World nations at .... (6253 25 )

Democracy in Egypt Proposal .... differences, poses political leadership problems which are .... J., Pye, LW, Verba, S., and Weiner, M .... "Egypt." International Financial Statistics, 45 (1991): 94 97. .... (2076 8 )

Global Warming .... lands supporting virtually all of Egypt=s agriculture .... monsoon patterns and add to the drought problems. .... food that sustains more than 100 Third World nations at .... (6253 25 )

Factors of the World of Work .... In Egypt, there were early divisions in the practice of .... 1). He feels that most of the problems of the .... New York: The Free Press of Lewis, Richard S., Jane Wilson .... (3940 16 )

Egypt and Saudi Arabia This .... war to alleviate Egypt's increasingly dire economic problems by reaching .... failed state and stagnant economy of Egypt in the .... recovery to the mid-$20s range in .... (2681 11 )

ssing need for arms spending. In the volatile Middle East, however, no government is likely to feel safe without expending a significant proportion of the national budget on defense. For many Islamic countries, including Egypt, the internal threat from Islamic fundamentalists raises the need to keep defense expenditures high to protect from that threateither directly to the government, or terrorist activities directed against the general population. Regardless of how urgent expenditures on arms may be, however, the population feels extreme unease in the absence of the social services which arms expenditures prevent the government from providing. This situation, coupled with the significant inequities in the country's income distribution, creates a high potential for significant social unrest in Egypt. ECONOMIC PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH EXTERNAL DEBT An external deficit develops for a country when the claims of foreign entities on the country's economy exceed the claims of entities in that country on the economies of other countries. A country's external debt is comprised of loans to both government and private sector organizations in the country. Loans to government entities involve sovereign risk, while loans to all

Category: Foreign - E