Strategy: Egypt's Clout in Region Seen Waning (Egypt-Report‪)‬

Is Egypt taking a back seat on the Arab and African political stage? Is Egypt's traditional role as leader of the Arab world eroding as a result of the rising influence of other regional powers such as Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia? For many years, particularly under the late President Gamal Abdul Nasser, Egypt was known as the major player and power broker in the region, mediating inter-Arab disputes and intervening to prevent political or border conflicts among Arab countries. However, Egypt's so-called "leadership of the Arab world" has suffered a host of setbacks in the past few years, unleashing a volley of questions, not only about the country's ability to play a major role in the region, but also about its ability to defend its vital interests in the face of tough challenges. Despite intensive and strenuous efforts exerted in past years, Egypt has failed to advance the chance of a peace settlement between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The gap between the two sides is still very wide. Likewise, Egypt has sponsored several rounds of inter-Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo between the militant Hamas group and the more moderate Fatah Movement. But no major breakthrough was made.