POLS 422
Contemporary Egypt
Professor Mustapha K. al Sayyid
Spring 2014
Course Outline
Office hours: Sunday and Wednesday, 11.30 am-1.00 pm.
Office: 2028 Political Science Department, HUSS building.
E-mail: mustapha@aucegypt.edu
Teaching Assistant: Sarah El Sebakhy
E-mail: sarah.249@aucegypt.edu
I. Introduction:
In this course we have the unique opportunity of studying an ongoing historical process of a
country in transition. Egypt has been a major actor in regional, and at times even international
politics meaning that whatever happens in this country, at this moment, is bound to have important
regional and international implications. Thus, the starting point in this course is the January 2011
events in Egypt and the political development they have generated. This process would be seen
within the broader perspective of what is called “Transition from Authoritarianism”.
II. Objectives:
- Learning how to link theory and concrete case studies
- Defining structures that led to important shifts in Egyptian politics,
- Identifying the agencies that brought these shifts,
- Using actors’ perspectives to understand their actions,
- Identifying other sources that could help explain Egyptian politics,
- Observing important events in current Egyptian politics.
- Examining the role of ideology in the Egyptian revolution.
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III. Basic readings:
Before Transitions from Authoritarian Rule”. CDDRL. Stanford IIS. No.45,September 2005.
Kandil,Hazem.Soldiers,Spies and Statesmen.Egypt’s Road to revolt.2012
Karl,Terry Lynn. “From Democracy to Democratization and Back.
Khosrokhavar, Farhad.The New Arab Revolutions That Shook the World..Boulder and London.
Paradigm Publishers.2012.
Mona El-Ghobashi.”The Praxis of the Egyptian Revolution”. Middle East Information
Project.No.258.Online
Tschirgi,Dan. Egypt’s Tahrir Revolution. Boulder and London: Lynne Reiner Publishers.2013.
Note: The sources used in this course will be from academic writing, newspaper reports,
internet sites, and Facebook.
IV. Syllabus and readings:
WEEK 1 (February 2-5)
How to interpret post-revolutionary Egyptian politics/Introduction
Readings:
Al-Sayyid,M. “What went wrong with Mubarak’s regime” in Dan Tschirgi.Op.cit
El-Ghobasi,Mona.“The Praxix of the Egyptian Revolution”.Op.cit.
Shatz, Adam. “Egypt’s Counter Revolution.” London Review of Books. LRB blog.
WEEK 2 (February 9-12)
Situating what happened in Egypt in a broader context
Readings:
Karl ,Terry Lynn . “From Democracy to Democratization and Back”.
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Debate:
Management of the Transitional Phase by the SCAF
WEEK 3 (February 16-19)
Structural analysis of causes of Egyptian revolution
a. Economic, social, and political conditions that led to the revolution
Readings:
Alqudsi-ghabra, Taghreed. "Creative use of Social Media in the Revolutions of Tunisia, Egypt
and Libya." International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. p.147-158. 2012.
Ibrahim, Solava. “A Tale of Two Egypts: contrasting state-reported macro-trends with microvoices of the poor.” Third World Quarterly.p.1347-1368. 2011.
b. The role of foreign actors:
Readings:
Tschirgi,Dan. “The US and the Tahrir Revolution” in Dan Tschirgi et al.Egypt’s Tahrir
Revolution”.
Bauer,Patricia.”The Transition of Egypt 2011: A New springtime for the European
Neighbourhood Policy”.Perspectives on European Politics & Society.Dece,ner 2011,Vol.12
Issue 4,Pp.420-439.
WEEK 4 (February 23-26)
Revolutionary agency
a. Youth
Readings:
Hafez, Bassem Nabil. "New Social Movements and the Egyptian Spring: A Comparative
Analysis between the Apil 6 Movement and the Revolutionary Socialists." Perspectives on
Global Development and Technology. p.98-113. 2013.
Sullivan,Earl(Tim).”Youth Power and the Revolution” in Dan Tschirgi.Pp.67-87.
Debate:
Could the young revolutionaries have done better?
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WEEK 5 (March 2-5)
b. Islamists:
Readings:
Surf through the site Ikhwanonline
Laub,Zachary.Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.Council on Foreign Relations.Janaury 2014.
Hoigilt,Jacob & Frida Nome.” Egyptian Salafism in Revolution” Journal of Islamic
Studies.Jan.2014,VOl.25.Issue 1.p.33-54
Debate:
Assessing Morsi’s Presidency
c. The Army
Readings:
Kandil,Hazem. Soldiers,Spies and Statesmen.Op.cit.Chs.5&6. 2012.
Ketchley, Neil. "The army and the people are one hand!" Fraternization and the 25th January
Egyptian Revolution. Comparative Studies in Society and History. p. 155-186. 2014.
Debate:
Presidential Elections in Egypt: conditions and candidates.
WEEK 6 (March 9-12)
d. Liberal political parties:
Readings:
Gerbaudo,Paolo,”The Impermanent revolution:The Organizational Fragility of the Egyptian
Prodemocracy Movement in the Troubled Transition”.Social Justice 2013.Vol.39. Issue 1,Pp.823.
Krajeski, Jenna. “Beyond Tahrir Square: Can Egypt’s Liberals survive in the Post-Mubarak Era”.
World Policy Journal. June 2011, vol. 28. Pp. 289-299.
WEEK 7 (March 16-19)
e. The masses
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Readings:
Beinin, Joel. “Egyptian Workers and January 25th: A Social Movement in Historical Context.”
Social Research. p. 3 323-348. 2012.
Bremer, Jennifer Ann. Leadership and Collective Action in Egypt's Popular Committees:
Emergence of Authentic Civic Activism in the Absence of the State." International Journal of
Not-for-Profit Law. p. 70-92. 2011.
Idle, Nada; Nunns, Alex. Tweets from Tahrir: Egypt’s Revolution as it unfolded, in the words of
the people who made it. 2011.
Tweets from Tahrir
WEEK 8 (March 23-26)
Achievements and setbacks
Readings:
Brown, Nathan J. “Egypt’s failed transition.” Journal of Democracy. p. 45-58. 2013
Roccu, Roberto. "David Harvey in Tahrir Square: the disposed, the discontented and the
Egyptian revolution." Third World Quarterly. p.423-440. 2013.
Stein, Ewan. “Revolution or Coup? Egypt’s Fraught Transition.” Survival. P. 45-66. 2012.
WEEK 9 (March 30-April 2)
a. Two constitutions and transitional Justice
Readings:
Al Attar, Mohsen. “Counter-revolution by Ideology? Law and development’s vision(s) for postrevolutionary Egypt.” Third World Quarterly. p. 1611-1629. 2012.
Sarquis, David J."Democratization after the Arab Spring: The Case of Egypt's Political
Transition." Politics and Policy. p.871-903. 2012.
WEEK 10 (April 6-9)
c. Changing the composition of the elite
Readings:
De Smet, Brecht. “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Egypt.” Science and Society. 2014.
Schielke,Samuli.”The Arab Autumn?On the Continuity of the Uprising in Egypt”. Suomen
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Antropologi: Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society. Winter 2011,Vol.36 issue 4 pp.7679
WEEK 11 (April 27-30)
d. Shifts in Foreign policy
Readings:
Muzaffer,Senel.”foreign Policy after the Tahrir Revolution: (Re)-Defining the Role of Egypt in
the Middle East”.Insight Turkey.Fall 2013,Vol.15 Issue 4,Pp.229-230.
Ozkan,Mehmet.”Egypt’s Foreign Policy under Mohamed Morsi” Middle East Analysis.March
2013,Vol.5,issue 51.Pp.10-18
WEEK 12 (April 4-7)
e. Persistence of the economic crisis
Readings:
Farah,Nadia Ramsis.”The Political Economy of Egypt’s revolution” in Dan
Tschirgi.Op.cit.Egypt’s Tahrir Revolution.Pp.47-65.
Mady,Abdel Fattah.”Popular Discontent,Revolution and democratization in Egypt in a
Globalized World”Indian Journal of Global Legal Studies.Winter 2013.Vo.20,Issue 1.Pp.313337.
WEEK 13 (May 11-14)
Paper presentations
WEEK 14 (May 18)
General Debate
V. Summary of the debates
a. Management by the SCAF of the first transitional phase
b. Morsi’s presidency and Islamists protests
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c. The first and the second presidential elections
d. Could young revolutionary groups have done better?
VI. Assignments:
Weekly reaction papers
20%
Short presentations on major agents of change in Egypt
10%
Mid-term
10%
One term paper:
1-Oral presentation
10%
2-Written text
25%
Comprehensive report
15%
Attendance and participation
10%
Note: Use Blackboard to send papers to the professor (when required) and to exchange
emails between students and the professor.
VII. Important dates:
February 16: Define topic of oral presentation, and of oral presentation on agents of change
February 23: Define topic of term paper
May 4-15: Paper presentations
May 16: Mid-term
May 15: Hand in your term paper
May 18: Hand in your comprehensive report
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