Reform and Frustration in Egypt

Strategies based on transition pacts that reduce rulers' risks and cushion their retreat from total power may be the most promising route to democracy in the Arab world.

A review of Unruly Corporatism: The Associational Life in Twentieth-Century Egypt, by Robert Bianchi.

In 2011–13, the undemocratic political outlook of both secular and Islamist actors helped to ensure the failure of democracy in Egypt. Today, the populace appears to have backed away from…