Revolution Squared Tahrir, Political Possibilities, and Counterrevolution in Egypt
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Atef Shahat Said is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the author of two books in Arabic.Revolution Squared Tahrir, Political Possibilities, and Counterrevolution in Egypt
“<i>Revolution Squared</i> is an exciting book that presents a new and insightful framework for understanding the 2011 uprising in Egypt and its aftermath. Atef Shahat Said’s first-person narratives and astute sociological analysis offer a compelling perspective on the organization and <i>longue durÉe</i> of the revolutionary process. This is absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary uprisings, in Egypt and beyond.” - Jessica Winegar, author of (Creative Reckonings: The Politics of Art and Culture in Contemporary Egypt) "The book will be of great value to those interested in the relations among urban protests, democracy, and revolution, as well as those who employ multiple and divergent research methods (covered in appendix 3) to explain multifaceted phenomena." - Dena Qaddumi (American Ethnologist) “Atef Shahat Said’s thoughtful book <i>Revolution Squared</i> examines the hopes and disappointments of Egypt’s pro-democracy activists, theorizing revolution and counterrevolution alongside the activists’ own attempts to understand how they succeeded so dramatically in 2011 and were defeated so decisively in 2013.” - Charles Kurzman, Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill "Atef Said’s stimulating new book . . . refreshingly sets aside the chicken-or-egg approach to Egypt’s 2011 revolution, centering instead the dualities that characterized it from start (2011) to finish (2013). . . . <i>Revolution Squared</i> may not have all the answers. But it points the way to formulating deeper, more resonant questions." - Mona El-Ghobashy (Middle East Journal) "THE INSIGHTS THAT Atef Shahat Said gained into Egypt’s politics of protest and mobilization - through his work and political activities before he embarked on an academic career - deeply enrich <i>Revolution Squared</i>, a participant-observer account of what is widely called Egypt’s January 25, 2011 revolution. . . . The value of <i>Revolution Squared</i> is not so much its contribution to the debate over whether or not this is an appropriate definition of a revolutionary situation. Rather, Said invites us to follow him as he guides us through the day-to-day struggles among the leftists, Islamists and liberals whose only point of agreement - embraced tactically by the military when its commanders felt there was no better choice - was the removal of President Hosni Mubarak." - Joel Beinin (Against the Current) "<i>Revolution Squared </i>is a call to re-evaluate and enrich our understanding of the Egyptian revolution. It adds to the literature on contentious politics in the Middle East specifically, and social movements theories broadly. It puts forward a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to studying episodes of contention in the region. Its analysis offers a critical framework to study and capture the inherent uncertainties that traditionally characterize social movements." - Nermin Allam (Mobilization)
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction. Revolution as Lived Contingency 1
1. Prelude to Revolutionary Possibilities: Tahrir and Political Protest in Egypt 31
2. Peak of Revolutionary Possibilities: Squared I: How the Revolution Was “Bound” within Tahrir 57
3. Sovereignty in the Street: Popular Committees, Revolutionary Ambivalence, and Unrealized Power 87
4. The Two Souls of the Egyptian Revolution: Democratic Demands, Radical Strikes 112
5. Waning Revolutionary Possibilities: Squared II: Counterrevolutionary Coercion and Elections without Democratization 147
6. Square Zero: The State, Counterrevolutionary Paranoia, and the Withdrawal of Activists 178
Conclusion: Revolution as Experience 210
Appendix 1. Brief Timeline of the Egyptian Revolution, 2011–2018 227
Appendix 2. A Note on Positionality 231
Appendix 3. Notes on Methods, or How I Conducted Historical Ethnography of a Revolution 235
Appendix 4. Major Political Coalitions in Egypt, 2000–2010 251
Notes 263
References 289
Index 325
“<i>Revolution Squared</i> is an exciting book that presents a new and insightful framework for understanding the 2011 uprising in Egypt and its aftermath. Atef Shahat Said’s first-person narratives and astute sociological analysis offer a compelling perspective on the organization and <i>longue durÉe</i> of the revolutionary process. This is absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary uprisings, in Egypt and beyond.” - Jessica Winegar, author of (Creative Reckonings: The Politics of Art and Culture in Contemporary Egypt) "The book will be of great value to those interested in the relations among urban protests, democracy, and revolution, as well as those who employ multiple and divergent research methods (covered in appendix 3) to explain multifaceted phenomena." - Dena Qaddumi (American Ethnologist) “Atef Shahat Said’s thoughtful book <i>Revolution Squared</i> examines the hopes and disappointments of Egypt’s pro-democracy activists, theorizing revolution and counterrevolution alongside the activists’ own attempts to understand how they succeeded so dramatically in 2011 and were defeated so decisively in 2013.” - Charles Kurzman, Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill "Atef Said’s stimulating new book . . . refreshingly sets aside the chicken-or-egg approach to Egypt’s 2011 revolution, centering instead the dualities that characterized it from start (2011) to finish (2013). . . . <i>Revolution Squared</i> may not have all the answers. But it points the way to formulating deeper, more resonant questions." - Mona El-Ghobashy (Middle East Journal) "THE INSIGHTS THAT Atef Shahat Said gained into Egypt’s politics of protest and mobilization - through his work and political activities before he embarked on an academic career - deeply enrich <i>Revolution Squared</i>, a participant-observer account of what is widely called Egypt’s January 25, 2011 revolution. . . . The value of <i>Revolution Squared</i> is not so much its contribution to the debate over whether or not this is an appropriate definition of a revolutionary situation. Rather, Said invites us to follow him as he guides us through the day-to-day struggles among the leftists, Islamists and liberals whose only point of agreement - embraced tactically by the military when its commanders felt there was no better choice - was the removal of President Hosni Mubarak." - Joel Beinin (Against the Current) "<i>Revolution Squared </i>is a call to re-evaluate and enrich our understanding of the Egyptian revolution. It adds to the literature on contentious politics in the Middle East specifically, and social movements theories broadly. It puts forward a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to studying episodes of contention in the region. Its analysis offers a critical framework to study and capture the inherent uncertainties that traditionally characterize social movements." - Nermin Allam (Mobilization)
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction. Revolution as Lived Contingency 1
1. Prelude to Revolutionary Possibilities: Tahrir and Political Protest in Egypt 31
2. Peak of Revolutionary Possibilities: Squared I: How the Revolution Was “Bound” within Tahrir 57
3. Sovereignty in the Street: Popular Committees, Revolutionary Ambivalence, and Unrealized Power 87
4. The Two Souls of the Egyptian Revolution: Democratic Demands, Radical Strikes 112
5. Waning Revolutionary Possibilities: Squared II: Counterrevolutionary Coercion and Elections without Democratization 147
6. Square Zero: The State, Counterrevolutionary Paranoia, and the Withdrawal of Activists 178
Conclusion: Revolution as Experience 210
Appendix 1. Brief Timeline of the Egyptian Revolution, 2011–2018 227
Appendix 2. A Note on Positionality 231
Appendix 3. Notes on Methods, or How I Conducted Historical Ethnography of a Revolution 235
Appendix 4. Major Political Coalitions in Egypt, 2000–2010 251
Notes 263
References 289
Index 325