The Political Atmosphere in Egypt: Reconciliation or Regression?

On October 4, 2018 TRT World Research Centre held a roundtable meeting on ‘The Political Atmosphere in Egypt: Reconciliation or Regression?’ This was part  of a series of roundtable meetings forming part of the two-day TRT World Forum 2018. 

Once perceived as one of the icons of the Arab Spring, Egypt has come to symbolise the counter- revolutionary wave that has swept across the region.. The recent decision to remove several  prominent figures from its official list of “terrorists”, which included prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood, has sparked discussion about the possibility of reconciliation between the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood organisation and the Egyptian government. This session aimed to unpack the ambiguous signs of possible reconciliation in Egypt between the state and its long-time scapegoat, the Muslim Brotherhood. Is reconciliation a real possibility? Or is this primarily a publicity stunt engineered by President Abdel Fattah el Sisi to appease international actors and human rights organisations?