(CNN) -- Arab modernity. Why is it that at the beginning of the 21st century the Arab world seems stuck in time? Why are most Arabs still ruled by kings or military dictatorships? And specifically, why has the most populous Arab nation, Egypt, been governed by one man for nearly three decades? President Hosni Mubarak, a former general, came to power in the aftermath of Anwar Sadat's assassination in October 1981. He has ruled Egypt ever since under a state of emergency. Last week, Mubarak's regime extended for another two years a Draconian emergency law that permits police to detain individuals indefinitely, prohibits unauthorized assembly and severely restricts freedom of speech.
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Kai Bird: Why does Hosni Mubarak still rule in Egypt, royalty in Jordan, Saudi Arabia?
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Bird grew up in Egypt under Nasser, who envisioned secular path to modernity
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He says Nasser's defeat in June 1967 war was a shock to Arab ethos, end to his dream
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Bird: Jihadists have nothing to offer but a desperate alternative to dictatorships
@placeholder became an autocrat, but at least he offered the Arabs a secular vision.