Egypt After the Euphoria
Egyptians take note: The months after a revolution can be more dangerous than the revolution itself, warns Anne Applebaum.
A letdown is inevitable. Disappointment in the slow pace of post-revolutionary change cannot be avoided. Historically, the months following a revolution can therefore be more dangerous than the revolution itself. The dissatisfaction with the February revolution of 1917 led to the Bolshevik coup d’etat in October of that year. In France, the mob kept resurrecting itself in the years following 1789 (a tradition that continues into the present). Disaster and dictatorship are not inevitable, but if Egypt is to avoid either a coup d’etat or a return to mob rule, the soldiers now ruling the country will have to do more than send everyone home.
