Arab Socialist Regimes

Global historical events have taken place in the Arab world. It witnessed revolutions that started in the Arab nation of Tunisia and went to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain. These revolutions have posed critical challenges to global capitalism and the United States imperialism. Upheavals in the Arab countries that have seen changes in socialist regimes continue to reverberate across the globe indicating that the world is approaching a period of challenges and opportunities for revolutionary socialists. Some of the revolutions were meant to instill into the public interest in governance, as well as solve bureaucratic issues and political problems.

Regimes in Libya

Libya has experienced radical changes in its political leadership system since Qaddafi’s regime fell following the 2011 upheaval. Society and the state have gone through substantial economic and social transformations. These changes have received a mixed reaction from the Libyan society. The creation of the latter, to which Qaddafi devoted his life and envisioned, began in 1973. The revolution aimed at combating inefficiency of the then form of government, where most critical decisions were made by government officials and not elected representatives.

Similarities and Differences between the Socialist Regime and Its Successors in Libya

Since 2011, after a great revolution in Libya, the regime has established several policies to curb an unstable state of the economy. Corruption was a major concern in Qaddafi’s regime since it was often observed in most institutions. There were no serious measures in place to eradicate this vice. Under Nouri Abusahmain, there are strict policies in place to ensure transparency and accountability in all government departments. During Qaddafi’s era, the EU was the main trading partner. Policies of trade have remained unchanged under the current regime. The regulatory body of the energy sector is still surrounded by cases of corruption as it was under the previous regime. There is still no proper mechanism to control gas and oil exports.

Before the revolution in 2011, under Qaddafi’s presidency, the business of producing non-hydrocarbon commodities was at its peak. There were huge exports to Europe and other African countries characterized by strong ties and trade policies. Under the current regime, trade on non-hydrocarbon commodities has collapsed due to political instability and weak trade ties. Insecurity had remained insignificant until 2011 when Qaddafi was overthrown. The aftermath of 2011 led the country to security disarray and prompted the current authority to come up with necessary policies. The latter included police reforms in the justice sector to ensure proper administration of justice to citizens.

The new government saw the need to avoid both external and internal danger caused by both civilians and terrorists. There was the establishment of authorities to probe criminal activities, control ammunition, and illegal immigration. A strong border surveillance system was created to defy external threats.

Creating a new economy in Libya was parallel to attempts of remaking social and political institutions. In the 1970s, private enterprises were the major players in the country’s economy, but with little activities in the fields of oil production, insurance, bank and oil distribution. However, Qaddafi’s administration considered wages, private retail business and rent being exploitation by the former regimes (Wright, 2012). He abolished them and introduced management committees that controlled workers affairs, made profit-sharing corporations functional in private and public enterprises. They passed a new policy that prohibited the possession of more than one private residence or dwelling. It enabled Libyan workers to take charge of numerous companies making them a state-managed enterprise. Wholesale trading companies were replaced by supermarkets owned by the state enabling the Libyans to access and buy commodities at low prices. In 1981, the state restricted the right to use personal bank accounts to access privately held funds for government projects. These policies were beneficial to poor Libyans; however, they caused opposition from the individuals disposed of extra property.

Regimes in Egypt

Gamal Abdel Nasser came to power in 1952 when the monarchy was overthrown. It used coercion and consent to remain in authority. Nasser championed for anti-imperialism and supported Palestinians. It enabled him to overcome the effect of Islam political opposition and to maintain the monopoly of the political authority until the 1967 war.

During the last ten years of Hosni Mubarak reign, political, social and economic tension had begun to increase reaching levels that were difficult to control in Egypt (Bebawi & Bossio, 2014). Mubarak’s rule and administration depended on three interconnected policies, which opposed socialist strategies of Nasser. The neoliberal economy policy incorporated the economy of Egypt into the one of the world’s capitalist states, leaving the majority of the Egyptian population poor. The aim of the policy was to give multinationals and Egyptian capitalists more profit. Another policy was aimed at making the army and the regime a satellite state of United States imperialism and Israel services. The last policy was to create and maintain ruthless police that had powers to thwart any social or political challenge or threat to the capitalist wealth monopoly and regime’s power monopoly.

Similarities and Differences between the Socialist Regime and Its Successors in Libya

After socialist policies under Nasser’s rule, Egypt has undergone tremendous changes in the security sector. Under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the security department has experienced major reforms in the justice system (Ikeda & Enayat, 2005). President Mohammed Morsi initiated a new foreign policy that enabled investors and other partners to conduct business in Cairo. Unlike his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak had not introduced proper foreign policies to attract international investors to Cairo.

Under the rule of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Mohammed Morsi, Nasser’s policies were reviewed. They created regional integration through the formulation of trade policies that enabled other neighboring countries to conduct businesses. It resulted into rapid economic growth and peaceful coexistence in the region. After the Mubarak’s regime fall, it was discovered that ministers, government top officials and Mubarak families had amassed the substantial amount of wealth.

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