Identity, culture and democratization: the case of Egypt

This article seeks to present an alternative approach to understanding the failure of democratization in the Arab world by locating the problem of democracy-building within the logic of the process of reproducing national identity and culture. The conceptual framework draws on the writings of Antonio Gramsci and postcolonial theorists such as Edward Said. Taking Egypt as a case study, I examine a series of events surrounding a human rights report about police brutality in Egypt to illustrate how the struggle to reproduce Egyptian national identity impacts upon the practice of democracy. In the course of searching for an “authentic” Egyptian identity, uncorrupted by Western influences, a critical mass of Egyptian civil society participates in producing a political consensus in which civil and political freedoms may be legitimately sacrificed in the name of national unity and security. This is despite attempts by some Egyptian activists to challenge dominant conceptions of national identity and culture in order to open up democratic spaces

The Queen Boat case in Egypt: sexuality, national security and state sovereignty

The government’s targeting of homosexuality in May 2001, following years of ‘turning a blind eye’ to Cairo’s gay scene, is studied here in terms of the links between the sphere of interpersonal relations and notions of national security within international relations. The persecution of men for alleged same-sex relations not only filled newspaper columns and created a spectacle to divert people’s attention away from the government’s failings. More importantly, the event represented an opportunity for government officials, the media and other civil society activists – both within Egypt and abroad – to ‘perform’ a discourse of national security through which national sovereignty was (re)produced and political order was maintained. However, this national security threat was not only posed by the external threat of Western governments, international NGOs and other transnational actors concerned with respect for human rights within Egypt. More importantly, this threat was constructed as originating with those people failing to conform to the ‘norm’ of heterosexual relationships

Bringing politics back in: examining the link between globalization and democratization

This article considers current explanations of the link between globalization and democratization in light of an empirical case study: that of a 1998-99 campaign led by Egyptian NGOs against government restrictions on the freedom of association. The article calls attention to the need to 'bring politics back in' to theories of the link between globalization and democratization, by studying the political strategies of actors, the longer-term local, historical context against which these strategies are formed and their impact upon existing relations of power. The first part of this article reviews some of the major arguments regarding the link between globalization and democratization in order to highlight their focus on structural changes in explaining democratization. The second part proposes an alternative explanatory framework, based on the Gramscian concepts of hegemony and counter-hegemony. The third and fourth parts operationalize this framework through presenting the context for the actions of NGOs in Egypt and the case study of NGO efforts for greater democratization. Finally, the conclusion brings together the conceptual and empirical discussions

Gendering political reconstruction in Iraq

This paper evaluates current US policies towards political reconstruction in Iraq using a gendered lens in order to identify the impact upon women and gender relations. I will argue that, despite an apparent high-level political commitment to Iraqi women within the US administration, current policies towards Iraq are not helping to reduce gender inequalities. This is because US measures that are targeted at women alone do not consider women’s position within gender relations and, therefore, do little to address the question of gender relations. Certain US policies, such as de-Baathification and the establishment of governance mechanisms along sectarian/communal lines, have exacerbated trends that contribute to increasing gender inequalities, as well as helping to fuel the current violence. These trends bring into question Iraqi women’s ability to fully participate in the public sphere, despite many efforts by Iraqi women’s groups to protect and promote women’s rights in post-Ba‘th Iraq

Popular culture, gender, and revolution in Egypt

Popular culture, particularly its gendered dimensions, remains relatively understudied in the field of Middle East studies, including Middle East gender studies. Yet it provides a fruitful arena for understanding the construction and reproduction of dominant gender norms, as well as their contestation and subversion. This was especially apparent in the wake of the Arab uprisings, when different forms of creative expression—such as graffiti and independent music—flourished, and popular media openly addressed previously taboo issues, namely, the phenomenon of sexual violence. Ostensibly a field of entertainment, popular culture creates possibilities of reaching new audiences as more institutionalized feminist activism, such as lobbying for legal reforms, may struggle to do. The relationship between popular culture and gender norms and identities is one of the subjects addressed in Politics and Popular Culture in Egypt: Contested Narratives of the 25 January 2011 Revolution and Its Aftermath, a three-and-a-half-year research project that, between June..

Women in Iraq: beyond the rhetoric

At a press conference two weeks before the US-led invasion of Iraq, flanked by four “Women for a Free Iraq,”1 Paula Dobriansky, then undersecretary of state for global affairs, declared: “We are at a critical point in dealing with Saddam Hussein. However this turns out, it is clear that the women of Iraq have a critical role to play in the future revival of their society.” For the Bush administration, Iraqi women would not only be “helping give birth to freedom” in the post-Saddam order.2 US officials spoke publicly about rape, torture and executions of women under Ba‘th Party rule, implicitly linking these atrocities to the necessity for US military action.

Gender and politics in the Middle East

This chapter aims to map out the field of gender and Middle East politics, highlighting differences in epistemology, ontology and methodology. It begins by discussing the legacies of colonialism in the study of gender in the Middle East and how scholars have attempted to challenge and undo those legacies. It then goes on to map out different approaches to studying gender and Middle East politics, considering some of the achievements, gaps and limitations in this regard. It ends by discussing the author’s own approach to researching gender and politics rooted in a feminist approach to knowledge production, teaching and activism

After the 25 January revolution : democracy or authoritarianism in Egypt?

This chapter seeks to understand the challenges to the emergence of democratic governance in the aftermath of Egypt’s 25 January Revolution. Much political science scholarship as well as many Western politicians conceptualized the 25 January Revolution as the beginning of a transition from authoritarian rule to democracy. Yet, what emerged in the period until 30 June 2013 is a ‘grey zone’ (Carothers 2002) between democracy and authoritarianism, where the institutions of democracy existed in name (elections, constitutions, parliaments) but in reality functioned as vehicles for securing obedience to the ruling regimes of SCAF, followed by that of former President Mohammed Morsi. During this period, human rights abuses continued, security forces acted with impunity, civilians were tried before military courts and the constitution of December 2012 undermined rather than extended many rights (Human Rights Watch 2012). Millions of Egyptians participated in the June 30 uprising with the hope of resurrecting the original aims of the 25 January Revolution, for freedom, social justice and dignity (Ezzat 2013)