Soldiers, Spies and Statesmen: Egypt's Road to Revolt. As tumultuous events in Egypt unfold at speed, with former President Morsi currently in custody, we present Verso's updated reading list of key titles and articles addressing the challenges facing Egypt and the Middle East. Seamus Milne considers the current situation in Egypt in the context of the Arab Spring and its historical precedents in the "Spring of Nations" of 1848 in his latest article for the Guardian. His latest book, The Revenge of History, follows the events of the Arab Spring as they unfold, as well as providing a rich geopolitical context for the uprisings. The Journey to Tahrir: Revolution, Protest, and Social Change in EgyptEdited by Jeannie Sowers and Chris Toensing The account of how it all began, this collection of reports from the region details the causes that underpinned the revolution before it amassed in scale.
Soldiers, Spies and Statesmen: Egypt's Road to Revoltby Hazem Kandil Continue Reading. Putting together pieces of Egypt’s militarized past. One might not agree with Hazem Kandil’s “Soldiers, Spies and Statesmen: Egypt’s Road to Revolt” that the competing roles of the military and security apparatus have been some of the main agents and causes for change in Egypt.
But as a lecturer on revolution, wars and militarism at Cambridge University, Kandil provides in his book a compelling case that in the upper echelons of corporeal, regime-forming power has been a tug of war between these “centers of power.” The power of statesmen and civilians, on the other hand — though very real — tends to take form vis-a-vis one of its armed counterparts. The focus of the book, as its subtitle suggests, is to explain the power changes from the 25 January revolution within this context. Kandil would agree with many that the regime has essentially not changed, and that there is a “deep state” behind the scenes manipulating events and politics. “The only real game-changer is that [of] the empowerment of the people,” Kandil said. Nasser_Philosophy. Commemorating the Nation. Commemorating the Nation is a study of the relationship between public commemoration and national identity in Egypt over the course of the twentieth century.
Appropriating insights from recent theoretical discussions of collective memory and public commemoration, it examines the modes by which different Egyptian communities of memory—the state under successive regimes; rival political forces and movements; elite and non-elite groups within civil society—remembered and commemorated the Egyptian national struggle, its defining moments and heroic figures, in specific sites of national memory. The book's analysis ranges across the twentieth century, tracing the changing place of selected sites of national memory from the pre-World-War-I years through the decades of the parliamentary monarchy to the era of the Egyptian Republic.
Each of its three main sections is devoted to a different form of commemoration. Israel Gershoni is Professor of History at Tel Aviv University.
Adaptable Autocrats: Regime Power in Egypt and Syria - Joshua Stacher. Book excerpt: Josh Stacher's "Adaptable Autocrats" One-time contributor to the blog Joshua Stacher recently published his book, Adaptable Autocrats: Regime Power in Egypt and Syria. Since the 2011 uprisings, there has been a debate in Middle Eastern academia as to whether regional specialists focused too much on the persistence of authoritarianism (and power elites in particular) and not enough on the societies (and social movements in particular.)
Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive, and the debate has had its ups and down according to what’s in the news. In this book, Josh looks the regime structures as an indication of both regime sustainability and adaptability, and applies this research to how Egypt and Syria handled the uprisings and their aftermath. Josh writes: Rather than explain the transition, this book compares how the structure of executive power allows for an authoritarian regime to change its ruling coalition (or not). Thus, it explains why Egypt could rapidly begin a transition while Syria could not. The Autumn of Dictatorship: Fiscal Crisis and Political Change in Egypt under Mubarak - Samer Soliman. "Samer Soliman's The Autumn of Dictatorship: Fiscal Crisis and Political Change in Egypt Under Mubark was well-received in opposition circles when first published in Arabic in 2004.
Critics of the regime welcomed the careful documentation of just how draining the immense security apparatus has been. . . How good it is to have these arguments placed on solid empirical ground. Evidence-based arguments in Middle East studies are a threatened species so this book should have a place on all our shelves. "—Raymond William Baker, Middle East Journal "Drawing on Western social science and financial data gleaned from the balance sheet of the Egyptian general budget, Soliman provides a rigorous analysis of the chronic fiscal crisis that has plagued Egypt since the mid-1980s . . . "Samer Soliman has followed the wise adage to 'follow the money as it shall lead you to the truth.' "A first-rate analysis.
" The Egyptian protests in early 2011 took many by surprise. A Grand Delusion: Democracy and Economic Reform in Egypt - Eberhard Kienle. Elections and Distributive Politics in Mubarak's Egypt. Lisa Blaydes - Stanford. Book Review: Elections and Distributive Politics in Mubarak’s Egypt. L. Blaydes (2011). Elections and Distributive Politics in Mubarak’s Egypt. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Every five years or so parliamentary candidates in Egypt—that is, those running for the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council—would spend millions on electoral campaigns.
Blaydes situates her study of Egyptian “competitive electoral authoritarianism” in a theoretical framework based significantly on the works of Barbara Geddes (2005, 2008) and Ellen Lust-Oskar (2005), which concern the issue of elections in authoritarian settings and, moreover, with that of popular support for authoritarian regimes. Though all regimes in the Arab world are authoritarian, each exhibits a unique set of institutional arrangements; and certainly, some are more authoritarian than others.
But why would an authoritarian regime assume the risks of holding … Nasser's Blessed Movement: Joel Gordon. Egypt in the Era of Hosni Mubarak, 1981–2011. “[A] tremendous read.” —Al Ahram Weekly “Prominent Egyptian economist and historical commentator Gamal Amin presents this new history of contemporary Egypt documenting the politics, international relations, and social and intellectual history of the Mubarak era. The work tackles a variety of themes, including corruption, the economy and the poor, middle class prospects, intellectual life, the press, religious discourse, and Egyptian relations in the region and with the United States, and attempts to place the regime in the larger narrative of Egyptian history since its independence in 1953.
Amin is also the author of Whatever Happened to the Egyptians, Whatever Else Happened to the Egyptians, and The Illusion of Progress in the Arab World.” —Reference and Research Book News “In this perceptive and insightful book, Amin does more than characterize Mubarak’s era, but rather compares Mubarak’s presidency with that of Sadat and Nasser before him. “Recommended.” Galal Amin - Authors Profile. Galal-Amin. Political Life in Cairo’s New Quarters. Professor Salwa Ismail | Staff | SOAS. Muslim Extremism in Egypt : Gilles Kepel. Gilles Kepel takes us into the world of the students, professionals, workers, and unemployed who are caught up in the Islamic movements of Egypt. Events that have riveted world attention—the first World Trade Center bombing, assassinations in Beirut, the attempt on the life of the Pope, the assassination of Sadat, and, in a new preface, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001—are illuminated by this penetrating study. Gilles Kepel is a member of the research faculty of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Professor at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Paris.
"Perhaps more than any other, this book gives the background necessary to understand the purpose and mindset of today’s religious radicals. In this classic study of the roots of Islamic extremism, Gilles Kepel demonstrates the pivotal role of the Egyptian connection. Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism. John Calvert. Associate Professor of History Holder of the Henry W. Casper, SJ Associate Professorship in History Department of HistoryCreighton UniversityOmaha, Nebraska 68178 USATel: 402-280-2653Fax: 402-280-1454JohnCalvert@creighton.edu Dr.
John Calvert studies social protest and political resistance movements in the modern Middle East. He is especially interested in the ways by which opposition groups and individuals employ symbols, doctrines and vocabularies derived from the Islamic heritage. His research focuses on the Muslim Brotherhood, with particular reference to Sayyid Qutb; jihadi organizations and ideologies; and the intersection between Islamism and nationalism.
Ph.D. 1994. Master of Arts, 1984. Master of Arts, 1981. Bachelor of Arts, 1978. Publications: Books Edited Works Guest Editor of a special issue of Historical Reflections/Reflexions Historiques, entitled "Islam and Modernity" (Fall 2004, vol. 30, no. 3). Journal Articles "'The Striving Shaykh' Abdullah Azzam and the Revival of Jihad. " Professor Gilles Kepel. The Striking Cabbies of Cairo and Other Stories. Dr John Chalcraft. On the State of Egypt: What Caused the Revolution. Timothy Mitchell | Columbia University. Timothy Mitchell is a political theorist who studies the political economy of the Middle East, the political role of economics and other forms of expert knowledge, the politics of large-scale technical systems, and the place of colonialism in the making of modernity.
Educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he received a first-class honours degree in History, Mitchell completed his Ph.D. in Politics and Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University in 1984. He joined Columbia University in 2008 after teaching for twenty-five years at New York University, where he served as Director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies. He is now professor and chair of the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies. Mitchell is the author of Colonising Egypt, a study of the emergence of the modern state in the colonial period and an exploration of the forms of reason, power and knowledge that define the experience of modernity. Tim Mitchell - Colonizing Egypt. Book Description Publication Date: 1 July 1992 Extending deconstructive theory to historical and political analysis, Timothy Mitchell examines the peculiarity of Western conceptions of order and truth through a re-reading of Europe's colonial encounter with nineteenth-century Egypt.
Frequently Bought Together Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought Product Description Review ""Colonising Egypt focuses on the intellectual and political impact of Europe on 19th century Egypt and argues for a critical repositioning of the study of colonial history. About the Author Timothy Mitchell is Professor, Department of Middle East and Asian Studies, Columbia University. What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item? 5.0 out of 5 stars Most Helpful Customer Reviews 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful Format:Paperback Was this review helpful to you? Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com: 4.2 out of 5 stars 4 reviews 16 of 17 people found the following review helpful. Rule of Experts : Timothy Mitchell. Can one explain the power of global capitalism without attributing to capital a logic and coherence it does not have? Can one account for the powers of techno-science in terms that do not merely reproduce its own understanding of the world?
Rule of Experts examines these questions through a series of interrelated essays focused on Egypt in the twentieth century. Mitchell is a widely known political theorist and one of the most innovative writers on the Middle East. He provides a rich examination of the forms of reason, power, and expertise that characterize contemporary politics. Together, these intellectually provocative essays will challenge a broad spectrum of readers to think harder, more critically, and more politically about history, power, and theory.
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration Introduction I. NotesSelect BibliographyIndex “Timothy Mitchell’s new book is brilliant. “Exciting and intellectually stimulating.” Understanding Cairo: The Logic of a City Out of Control. Visitors to Cairo probably come away with the same images stuck in their heads: the yellow air, snarled traffic, crumbling colonial architecture, trash piles, et cetera. These are all, of course, part of the contemporary urban reality of the largest city in Africa. Sims' new book, however, is the best--perhaps only--compact source that discusses the sides of the city visitors rarely have reason to see: the massive informal residential expansion and the new desert cities. A simple figure immediately alter one's perspective: already in 1996, 62% of the population was living in areas informally developed since 1950 (p. 69).
That is, nearly 2/3 of the city lives in areas organically grown and not overseen by any government planning body. The sections covering the informal city are perhaps the most conceptually useful sections of the book. Those of use who have visited Cairo immediately realize how little of the city we have seen. 2050 Or Bust. THIS PAST AUGUST IN HELIOPOLIS, the Cairo suburb built over desert by a Belgian industrialist in 1905, I sat in an architect's office, a place called Cube Architectural Consultants, and heard a glowing, impromptu presentation on "Cairo 2050. " Cairo 2050 is a series of outlandish master plans and megaprojects for Egypt's capital that the regime of Hosni Mubarak began promoting in 2008, with the help of the United Nations and the Japanese government.
Its future, an earnest architect informed me gently, was "uncertain in the new Egypt. " Imagine Dubai in the Nile Valley, if instead of building it on empty sand, futurist skyscrapers and business parks rose over what are now the packed, informal neighborhoods that today house the majority of Cairo's estimated 17 million people. Sims is one of Cairo's sharpest observers. Cairo 2050 was the government's response to this rapid, informal urbanization. This is not only a bit of Cairo trivia.