L. M. ISAEV Candidate of Political Sciences A. V. KOROTAEV Doctor of Historical Sciences Higher School of Economics, Institute of Africa, Russian Academy of Sciences L. E. GRININ Doctor of Philosophy National Research University "Higher School of Economics" , Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Keywords: Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Muslim Brotherhood, army, forces of evil, Ismail Pasha, megaprojects On June 3, 2016, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took part in one of the country's most popular television programs, 100 Minutes, during which he answered questions from the famous journalist Osama Kamal. Thus, the head of state actually summed up the results of his two-year presidency, identifying the main trends in both political and economic development of Egypt. In his speech, el-Sisi focused on two fundamental tasks for modern Egypt: the need for national consolidation against the "forces of evil" and the implementation of large infrastructure projects that can warm up the Egyptian economy in the future. THE INSTINCT OF SELF-PRESERVATION The need to unite against all those who, according to the succinct definition of the Egyptian president, are now commonly defined as" forces of evil " is now becoming one of the most important, if you will, ideological components of the al-Sisi administration. It is noteworthy that during his speech, the head of state never specified who exactly should be included in this category, noting that "the Egyptian people know who they are talking about."1 It is obvious that this collectively means all the opponents of the current regime, taken together-from the Muslim Brotherhood and radicals who have traditionally settled in the Sinai Peninsula, to young people who are very susceptible to influence from "persons with ulterior motives... and who can harm the national interests of the state"2. Which, in general, is quite understandable. Egypt today faces a situation typical of many societies that are mo ... Читать далее