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[MetalSlimeHunt]

That they share our dislike of nonsecular goverments doesn't make a military playing kingmaker a good thing.

No, but Turkey remains a mostly stable and mostly democratic state, a (although less so since the Iraq War) US ally, an EU candidate, and has so far failed to share the major problems that persistently plague many nations that you would find south of it. Turkey's military plays an important job in ensuring that the nation's internal balance of power does not become hopelessly lopsided, and I see this as the reason that Turkey has been so successful compared to, say, Syria. I think that as the situation in Turkey improves while the years pass, the tendency of the junta to periodically knock out the civilian government will eventually cease. Turkey's millitary has had enough chances to make a permanent military government to convince me they aren't interested in having one.

[Sheb]

Also, Portugal after Salazar comes to mind.

[ChairmanPoo]

Turkey's military plays an important job in ensuring that the nation's internal balance of power does not become hopelessly lopsided, and I see this as the reason that Turkey has been so successful compared to, say, Syria.

I think it's just a matter of wealth. Turkey's larger, wealthier, and was pretty much the core of the Ottoman Empire for a long time.  They do have a quite dubious record in several instances, though still far better than Syria, I'll give you that.

Then again, Syria wasn't that unstable until recent times, either.

Also, Portugal after Salazar comes to mind.

True that. It's a shame Egypt did not end up like that one. It resembled it, at first, too.

[Dutchling]

So, I haven't been following Egypt's situation at all except every now and than when they appear in the news. Do any of you think the army will give the power away after elections?

[Aqizzar]

So, I haven't been following Egypt's situation at all except every now and than when they appear in the news. Do any of you think the army will give the power away after elections?

What people are starting to fear is that there won't be any elections, or that the army will effectively control them or whoever's elected.  They're already skipping over the original transitional timetable, and even by that Egypt isn't supposed to have a genuinely new government for at least another year.

So to answer your question, nobody's very confident that the army will cede power back to any particular civilian government, and they're marching in the streets again to get another whack at things.

[Dutchling]

Well, it wasn't like anyone really believed the army would give the country more freedom than Mubarak did, but it's still too bad it probably won't happen. Moroocco It seems like the only country to really benefit from the 'Arab Spring' is Morocco. Although I don't actually know what happened with Tunisia after all the commotion around Egypt and Libya I basically forget about them :|.

[Heron TSG]

Libya? Libya won.

[Criptfeind]

Who can oust the military in Egypt?

They control the military, the economy, and now the government. What powers are left to stop them? Is there any way to avoid a lot of blood shed if they decide to stick around?

[ChairmanPoo]

Maybe civil disobedience from the low level soldiers?

Libya? Libya won.

Libya isn't over yet. And there has been quite a bit of lynching going around. To wait and see...

[SalmonGod]

I honestly don't understand how these things work out the way they do.  It's not like militaries are alien invaders with no connection to the people they're victimizing.  I understand they want to intimidate the people into submission, but if the people don't back down, then what can the military do that isn't in some way self-destructive?  How can they expect to have a country left that they'd even want to live in after killing masses of people?  Aren't they family and friends with some of those people?

I can understand an iron-fist dictator, who can construct an elaborate web of fear around him, while protecting anyone close to him.  I can't understand how a huge organization whose membership is siphoned from the general population can do the same.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Well, it wasn't like anyone really believed the army would give the country more freedom than Mubarak did, but it's still too bad it probably won't happen. It seems like the only country to really benefit from the 'Arab Spring' is Morocco. Although I don't actually know what happened with Tunisia after all the commotion around Egypt and Libya I basically forget about them :|.

Morocco wasn't even involved in the Arab Spring. Tunisia had elections just recently in which a bizarrely moderate Islamist party won a slight majority, but could be blocked by a coalition of the other secular parties. Lybia is still halfway in anarchy and trying to transition, but the new Lybian constitution worries me. Egypt is currently under a military government. The president of Yemen has stepped down. The entire executive cabinet of Jordan was replaced by an order from the king of Jordan. Saudi Arabia is having local municiple elections for the first time next year. Syria and Iran's governments remain in power.

[ChairmanPoo]

The military is by definition hierarchical and rather conservative, and low-level soldiers are drilled into obeying orders without question, which makes sense because otherwise there's no way you could rely on them obeying orders they might not like. So it's not really surprising that they often stick to the chain of command during coups.

[Heron TSG]

The problem lies in 'military families', families that expect their children to go into the military. They're quite different from 'general populace' after a while.

Syria and Iran's governments remain in power.

We'll see how long that lasts, I've heard rumors of escalation.

[Phmcw]

There really isn't anything bizarre about that Islamic party. They are faily religious, way too conservative for my taste but not ax crazy.
What did you expect? Talibans?

[ChairmanPoo]

Morocco had riots, but they managed to curtail them. Yemeni guy left the country but left his second in command in charge, right? The way Aquazzar said it, he pretty much left because he needed urgent medical help

There really isn't anything bizarre about that Islamic party. They are faily religious, way too conservative for my taste but not ax crazy.
What did you expect? Talibans?

I dont know, there has been quite a bit of lynching going on. As I said, to wait and see.