The party headquarters of former Egyptian presidential candidate Ayman Nour burned down in a suspicious fire this month. Mr. Nour is serving a five-year prison term, his appeals against spurious fraud charges exhausted. What a difference a year makes.

This monograph reviews what practical difference reforms made for the 2005 elections and explores the uneasy and ambiguous relationship between the regime and political Islam. Therefore, the most significant threat to the existing political system in Egypt would be a strong liberal opposition, which could pressure the regime for more reforms.