 Once in a while, I like to make arguments for positions I don't necessarily agree with. In a country trapped by its own geography, along with high unemployment and a governmental incompetence, Egypt does not seem like the most likely country to form its own political bloc. But Egypt is also surrounded by far less industrialized countries, some of which are literal failed states, and the country has some of the greatest internal unity in all of Africa. I am here today to explain Egypt's geopolitical position and the things it needs to do to secure its position from foreign threats. High population growth is both a blessing and a curse, depending on how well a country can manage it. Currently, Egypt struggles with a very quickly growing population, with the fertility rate remaining high with an average 3.3 barts per woman recorded in 2019, down from 6.7 in 1960. The population has doubled from 50 million to 100 million in just 35 years, and the growth seems to have no sign of slowing down. Egypt's geography has made this growth difficult to manage. With the population being tethered to the Nile River, surrounded by inhospitable desert, Egypt's thin fertile lands hold some of the most densely populated regions of the world. With the population growing so rapidly, water shortages are already starting to become an issue, and the country's farmers will have to find new ways to use water more efficiently. The entire livelihood of the country relies on this river, and any threat to its supply will damage the country's hull severely. With 70% of the water supply coming from the Nile, Egypt must be wise in its diplomacy with upstream nations to secure its survival. This issue will be explained in greater detail later on. Large young populations can fuel the economic growth of a country, but the possibility of millions of manufacturing and infrastructure jobs being created to help develop the country and employ the population. The creation of these jobs would require mass urbanization, which is a process beginning to sweep not just Egypt, but all of Africa. There's a flip side to this though, and the population can easily grow quicker than the creation of jobs. For those in the cities, this would lead to mass youth unemployment, inevitably leading to a rise of crime and social instability. Egypt suffers from this to a great degree. The poverty rate has increased over time in the country due to a rapidly growing population but inadequate economic growth. With 16.7 living under $1.45 a day in 2000, increasing to 27.8% in 2015, and further to 32.5% in 2018. Compounded with a median age of 24.6 years, Egypt simply has not been able to employ its rapidly growing young population. Events like the Arab Spring and rising Islamic extremism correlate with these trends as unemployed youth become roped into these movements without anything else to do with their time, and the hopes of a better life. On the other hand, if an economy remains agricultural, this wouldn't affect the country as much as the large youth population would be mostly employed on their parents' farms, or in mines. Economies cannot grow if they remain in the primary sector, as their position in global trade will mostly be to supply richer countries with their raw materials, who will in turn manufacture those materials into more expensive and useful goods. Egypt is much farther along in the industrialization process than its neighbors, and for that matter any country in Africa. Poor nations in the region could turn to Egypt to produce their raw goods into manufactured ones if they continued this process of industrialization. Egypt would need to capitalize on this though and invest in a large industrial sector to gain economic influence over its neighbors, instead of wasting money on a new capital city and funding war in Libya, a country unnecessary for Egypt's political survival. This kind of incompetence will continue to lag Egypt behind unless something is done to stop it, and I don't mean to individually call out Egypt, just look at America's government right now. Every country suffers from an incompetent government at one point or another. Benefiting Egypt over other countries in the region is its coherent national identity. In stark contrast to other African countries, the idea of Egypt has been around for millennia, and although they have been controlled under many foreign dynasties, the country is still ethnically and mostly religiously united. The vast majority, around 90%, identifies as Egyptian, Arab, and Muslim, though there are also other ethnic minorities. The most major of which is the Coptic people, a Christian ethnic minority in one of the oldest Christian communities in the world that make up around 10% of the population. Other smaller minorities include Siwa Berbers, Nubians, and nomadic Bedouins. Egypt can use its Arab identity to pull on other Arab states and peoples upstream the Nile to defend its water, as well as theirs. Sudan and Egypt have a similar issue. The vast majority of their water supply comes from the Blue Nile, of which Ethiopia is blocking up with their Renaissance dam. Both Sudan and Egypt share this animosity towards Ethiopia, as well as Sudan having border clashes with Ethiopia starting in 2020. The two countries signed a military cooperation deal in March 2021 due to their shared strategy. This is not the only way that Egypt is getting what it wants from Sudan, though. Since the 2019 ousting of long-standing dictator and war criminal Omar al-Bashir, the country has been ruled by a military council, allegedly making the transformation of Sudan to a democratic regime, focusing on stability. Egypt has taken great interest in being part of this transition to stability in Sudan. Military and political interests are not the only sites Egypt could have in Sudan. If Egypt develops its industrial sector, the two countries could form a strong economic partnership, where Sudan harvests raw materials for Egypt to produce into manufactured goods. This partnership would be beneficial for both countries, giving Egypt an economic sphere while also giving Sudan a much more affordable location to receive its manufactured goods from. Sudan is the most important country for Egypt to get in its sphere. The countries share the same goals, and with Sudan and their military, political, and economic alliance, Egypt can secure its interests deeper in the continent, too. Influence over South Sudan and Uganda is also a viable option for Egypt, as those countries control shares of the White Nile, which also carries a significant portion of Egypt's water supply. They can also work to pick off smaller agricultural states in the region into their sphere, also to secure a base in Northeast Africa. Ultimately, Egypt's main geopolitical goals should be to create a stable block of economic and military dependencies and secure its water supplies. The Blue Nile flows from Ethiopia's Lake Tana, and frankly, Ethiopia is the only one that can control what happens to their dam. Unless, of course, Egypt surrounds the country with allies and threatens war. Securing Lake Tana under its control would be really the only way that Egypt could fully secure its water interests. Egypt could potentially win in a war with Ethiopia, on the sole basis that it has Sudan as an ally, giving it a 30 million person advantage, and that Egypt has a more industrial capability than Ethiopia. Such a war would be brutal, however, due to Ethiopia's mountainous geography, and it would take far more power than expected to break through Ethiopian defensive lines. This would be a conflict that the world would not like to see go down, due to the sheer length of the war, because of the geography of Ethiopia, and the effects that it would have in the livelihoods of all nations involved. Egypt is a country that has many severe issues at home, mainly stemming from its growing population and deteriorating water situation, compounded with incompetent leadership. If Egypt can get its water supply under its direct control, it would be in fabulous shape, and the way they need to do this is by creating an industrial economy and forming economic, political, and military partnerships with upstream nations who share their interests. Maybe Egypt needs to get a man like Muhammad Ali in charge of the country again to bring it to a territorial maximum and secure its water, and hopefully some better economic advisors. Thank you all for watching. Be sure to like, subscribe, and share this video with all of your friends. Hopefully I made it to 3,000 subscribers by the time this video was uploaded, but if not, let's make it happen right now. Come take a look at my Patreon and Discord, and I'll see you guys next time.