The Ascendance of Official Islams

This article examines how and why four Arab states, Morocco, Jordan, Tunisia, and Egypt, have increased official Islam (OI) to counter the new challenges in the regional environment following the Arab uprisings. It argues that regimes responded to the initial rise of popular Islam as well as the threat from extremist groups by enhancing their support for official Islam. In an effort to control the religious space and legitimize their rule, these regimes have allocated financial resources, political capital, and institutional power to elements of official Islam. Furthermore, these regimes’ survival strategies vary according to the regime type and the presence or absence of inherited religious institutions. For example, we find that Tunisia turned to foreign training of their imams and greater cooperation with religious leaders in other countries. By contrast, Egypt, under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, further coopted al-Azhar and OI by setting the agenda for how religion institutions should engage society. Meanwhile, Jordan continued its long-standing development of OI while Morocco further expanded and internationalized OI. These similar goals but distinct approaches demonstrate the importance of the understanding the context in which these specific policies are developed.     

Britain and the Collapse of Egypt's Constitutional Order, 1950-52

Britain's longstanding practice of intervening in the struggle between King Farouk, the Wafd and the constitution was one of the main causes of the demise of parliamentary politics in Egypt. Indeed, the sharp deterioration in the political situation in the winter of 1951-52, which paved the way for the Free Officers' coup on 23 July 1952, was the result of a breakdown in the Anglo-Egyptian defence negotiations. The Wafd government used the 'British question' as a distraction from its own internal shortcomings. Britain responded by pursuing a policy of toppling the Wafd and replacing it with a more amenable administration. To this end, British officials manipulated the United States into co-sponsoring the Middle East Command proposals of October 1951, aware that American backing would be required during imminent disturbances in Egypt. The subsequent Ismailia incident of January 1952 hastened the collapse of Egypt's constitutional order and also transformed British perceptions of the usefulness of the Suez base.     

Fragmenting states,new regimes: militarized state violence and transition in the Middle East

Scholars working in the transitology tradition assume that authoritarian breakdown leads to movement towards democratization after an initial period of uncertainty. If a transition falls short of democratization, there is an assumption that a return to authoritarian normalcy has transpired. Yet, whether one looks at Egypt, Libya, Syria, or Bahrain, the emergent trend is neither democratization, a return to the old authoritarian order, or a delayed transition. Rather, the weakening and fragmenting of regimes by popular mobilizations stimulated elites’ militarization of the state apparatus and unprecedented levels of state violence against ordinary citizens in a process of regime re-making.     

Class forces,transition and the Arab uprisings: a comparison of Tunisia,Egypt and Syria

This article intervenes into an ongoing debate on authoritarian regimes in the Arab world following the uprisings of 2011, in particular addressing the perceived failure of those uprisings to bring about “transition” to liberal democratic models. Drawing upon the method of comparative historical sociology used in seminal analyses of democratization and dictatorship in Europe, Asia and the Americas, the article seeks to explain the varying trajectories of the Arab Uprising states in terms of several structural factors, namely the balance of class forces, the relative autonomy of the state and the geo-political context. The article provides an empirical comparison of the cases of Egypt, Tunisia and Syria as points on a continuum of outcomes following the Arab uprising. The article mounts a critique of the absence of class analysis in mainstream transition theory and hypothesises instead an important role for workers’ movements in bringing about even basic elements of liberal democracy. The empirical comparison is shown to support this hypothesis, demonstrating that in Tunisia, the state where the worker's movement was strongest a constitutional settlement has been reached while Syria, the state with the weakest and least independent workers’ movement has descended into counter-revolution and civil war: the case of Egypt lying between these two poles.     

埃及变局后的以色列与埃及关系

2011年年初埃及爆发大规模抗议示威活动,导致穆巴拉克政府迅速垮台。埃及变局在以色列国内引起了极大的震惊,也严重影响到维持了30年之久的埃以和平关系。一年来,埃及和以色列双方围绕着《埃以和平条约》、天然气供应、边境安全等问题出现了摩擦,尤其是埃及民众冲击使馆事件给埃以关系蒙上了阴影。随着地缘政治环境的进一步恶化,一些间接因素也对以色列的安全构成了威胁,如埃及开放拉法口岸,接近哈马斯势力,同意伊朗军舰通过苏伊士运河以及坚决支持巴勒斯坦入联等无不引起以色列的高度警惕,以色列在中东地区面临着更为孤立的境地,国民固有的不安全感亦随之加剧。     

‘Blocked’ Youth: The Politics of Migration from South and East Mediterranean Countries Before and After the Arab Uprisings

Migration from South and East Mediterranean (SEM) countries has been considered a growing security threat in the EU and Gulf states following the 9/11 attacks and the Arab uprisings. Since 2011, the economic slowdown, regime changes and socio-political instability have spurred growing migration pressure from SEM countries. However, the securitisation of migration of young citizens from these countries in the EU and the Gulf states is manifested in the drastic limitation of migrants’ inflows, and in the selection of prospective migrants on demographic, socio-economic and political grounds. Today’s ‘governmentality’ of youth migration from SEM countries poses ethical and development-related issues.     

Deep Frustration of the Egyptian Dream to Build a Powerful Nation

For many years,Egypt sought to become a powerful nation,but failed in its efforts,because its ruling foundation has deviated from the majority of the broad masses,its development path has strayed from its goal of industrialization,and its extemal strategy has gotten away from the line of non-alignment.The lessons of Egypt should be learned by other nations.     

The ‘Arab Spring’ in the historical perspectives of Middle East politics

Abstract

The events of the ‘Arab Spring’ appeared to be animated by slogans and objectives of universalist orientations to liberty, dignity and social justice, a departure from the ethno-religious nationalisms that dominated the politics of the region. They raised questions regarding the ‘exceptionalism’ of Arabs and Muslims, whom many observers and commentators considered to be tied to sentiments and solidarities of patrimonialism, tribe and religion. Yet, the forces that seemed to benefit from the transformations in Egypt and elsewhere were not those that made the ‘revolution’ but precisely religious and patriarchal parties which benefited from popular constituencies in elections. A consideration of the political history of the main countries concerned can throw some light on these transformations. The nationalist, often military, regimes which emerged from the independence struggles of mid-twentieth century headed ideological, populist, nationalist and ‘socialist’ movements and parties and authoritarian regimes which eliminated oppositional politics and social autonomies in favour of a corporatist welfare state. These regimes, facing economic and geo-political contingencies of the later decades were transformed into dynastic oligarchies and crony capitalism which broke the compact of welfare and subsidies leading to intensified impoverishment and repression of their populations. Popular strata were driven ever more into reliance on ‘survival units’ of kin and community, reinforcing communal and religious attachments at the expense of civic and associational life. These ties and sentiments come to the fore when the ruling dynasties are displaced, as in Iraq after the 2003 invasion or Egypt after the removal of Mubarak. The ideological and universalist politics of the revolutionaries appear to be swamped by those conservative affiliations.     

Prevalence and effects of violence against women in a rural community in Minia governorate, Egypt

This study was carried out to investigate prevalence and the characteristics of domestic violence (DV) against women in a rural area in Minia governorate, Egypt, as well as its physical and psychological consequences. Seven hundred and seventy-two women were interviewed. Sociodemographic data were collected; the WHO questionnaire was used to identify the abuse; the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IIIR (SCID) to detect psychiatric disorders. Abused females constituted 57.4% of the total sample. There were significant relationships between DV and low education, low income, higher number of children, and husband's education. Psychiatric disorders occurred in 18% of the sample. There were statistically significant relationships between psychological and physical abuse of women and the occurrence of psychiatric disorders. In conclusion, DV against women was related to various negative health outcomes, and it is recommended to be given its real importance in both Forensic Medicine Council and in psychiatric assessment.     

Suicide trends in upper egypt

Suicide is an important problem, ranking among the top 10 causes of death for individuals in all ages in developed countries. This article is a retrospective study evaluating suicide cases in Assiut, one of the largest provinces in Egypt, from 2005 to 2009. There were 117 cases, of which involved 68 male victims (58.12%) and 49 women (41.88%). Suicide rates ranged from 0.6 to 0.8 per 100,000. Age predominance was from 20 to ≤30 years. The method of suicide was different between male and female victims, as male victims tried to use more violent methods than females. The most common cause of death in men was usage of toxins and by hanging 29% and 28%, respectively, while in women was usage of toxins (70%). This study showed that suicide rates have increased since 1987, indicating a grave problem that needs to be solved.