The globalization of capital, the rise of multinational corporate power, and the process of neoliberalism have made the state subordinate, but not irrelevant. The traditional state structure still has a role; it is just a role completely subservient to private power. This is as true in the West as it is in the less developed world.
At this point, the State has 3 key functions in the corporate imperial system:
• Creating an environment conducive for the maximization of profit and market share for Multinationals
• Creating mechanisms for financing private enterprises with public money
• Terrorizing the population
If a regime can prove that it is capable of fulfilling all of these functions, it will be proclaimed stable and wise and good, even as democratic, by the international power system. If a regime cannot fulfill these functions, it will be denounced, punished, and either abandoned or replaced.
Now, it should be noted that public opposition to a regime does not, in and of itself, disqualify the regime from support, as long as it fulfills these 3 prime functions.
According to an old maxim of the original neoliberal gangsters, the Rothschilds, “the time to buy is when there is blood in the streets”. As long as profits, share values, and market access, are up, and wages, rights, regulations, and freedom are down; the regime is approved.
Historically, there is a solid and reliable correlation between human rights abuse, political repression, and Western foreign aid and investment. You don’t see one without the other, except in extremely unique cases.
The point is, if you want to get rid of a particular regime, whether in Egypt or anywhere else, the way to do that –the only way to do that—is to prevent it from successfully fulfilling those 3 functions