1st Edition

Revolutionary Egypt Connecting Domestic and International Struggles

Edited By Reem Abou-El-Fadl Copyright 2015
    332 Pages 26 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    332 Pages 26 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    In 2011 the world watched as Egyptians rose up against a dictator. Observers marveled at this sudden rupture, and honed in on the heroes of Tahrir Square. Revolutionary Egypt analyzes this tumultuous period from multiple perspectives, bringing together experts on the Middle East from disciplines as diverse as political economy, comparative politics and social anthropology.

    Drawing on primary research conducted in Egypt and across the world, this book analyzes the foundations and future of Egypt’s revolution. Considering the revolution as a process, it looks back over decades of popular resistance to state practices and predicts the waves still to come. It also confidently places Egypt’s revolutionary process in its regional and international contexts, considering popular contestation of foreign policy trends as well as the reactions of external actors. It draws connections between Egyptians’ struggles against domestic despotism and their reactions to regional and international processes such as economic liberalization, Euro-American interventionism and similar struggles further afield.

    Revolutionary Egypt is an essential resource for scholars and students of social movements and revolution, comparative politics, and Middle East politics, in particular Middle East foreign policy and international relations.

    Foreword Charles Tripp  Introduction: Connecting Players and Process in Revolutionary Egypt Reem Abou-El-Fadl Part I: Contesting Authority, Making Claims: Inside Egypt 1.Reluctant Revolutionaries? The Dynamics of Labour Protests in Egypt, 2006-2013 Marie Duboc 2.After the 25 January Revolution: Democracy or Authoritarianism in Egypt? Nicola Pratt 3.Re-envisioning Tahrir: The Changing Meanings of Tahrir Square in Egypt’s Ongoing Revolution Mark Allen Peterson 4. The Iconic Stage: Martyrologies and Performance Frames in the January 25th Revolution Walter Armbrust 5. From Popular Revolution to Semi-Democracy: Egypt’s Experiment with Praetorian Parliamentarism Alexander Kazamias Part II: Contesting Authority, Making Claims: At the Interface 6. Egypt’s Foreign Policy from Mubarak to Mursi: Between Systemic Constraints and Domestic Politics Raymond Hinnebusch 7.Re-scaling Egypt’s Political Economy: Neoliberalism and the Transformation of the Regional Space Adam Hanieh 8. The Geopolitics of Revolution: Assessing the Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions in the International Context Corinna Mullin Part III: Reactions and Recalibrations: Beyond Egypt 9. Between Cairo and Washington: Sectarianism and Counter-revolution in Post-Mubarak Egypt Reem Abou-El-Fadl 10. Liberation Square, Almost Unnoticed, Returns with a Vengeance: Perceptions of Tahrir and the Arab Revolutions in Turkey Kerem Öktem 11. Revolutions, the Internet, and Orientalist Reminiscence Miriyam Aouragh 12. The Egyptian Revolution and the Problem of International Solidarity Anthony C Alessandrini

    Biography

    Reem Abou-El-Fadl is Lecturer in the Comparative Politics of the Middle East at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

    This book challenges the belief that there is no value added in reading yet another book on Egypt’s Tahrir Revolution. The high hopes that this revolution would take Egypt along the path of liberal democracy were dashed with the removal of Muhammad Mursi , Egypt’s first freely elected civilian president on July 3, 2013 by the army supported by large masses of Egyptians. Elements of an answer to the question why such hopes were dashed are offered in several chapters in the book; the analysis of the one year experiment of parliamentary democracy, perceptions of revolutionary actors, including the notion of martyrdom, and the difficulties of overhauling the Egyptian economy burdened by so many constraints. Other chapters in the book offer a fresh look at the regional and international implications of a revolution which succeeded in one war of manoeuver but failed in facing up to the challenge of wars of position.

    Mustapha Kamel Al-Sayyid, Cairo University

     This is the 'go to' book for understanding the events surrounding the Egyptian revolution of 2011 and its aftermath. The editor is to be congratulated for assembling this impressive set of authors whose collective efforts shed important light on the Egyptian revolution itself while placing it in the wider Arab and international context.   There are multiple insights in here for students of Egypt and the Middle East. Louise Fawcett, Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford