In order to keep this blog from going silent, I’m going to try reverting back to what I used to do with truthtalkz, and summarize important news analysis every day. It adds a step for me, but it might keep things going, and inspire more. Think beyond the FB…:
1) Here’s Elliott Colla, starting with the “culture of anarchy” discourse, and then focusing on the Egyptian state’s culture policy under Mubarak. I had no idea that the new Minister of Culture Gaber Asfour taught CASA students in 1991. I probably met him at some point that year, but no longer remember: State Culture, State Anarchy
2) From the same Jadaliyya website (founded by a cooperative of Middle East studies academics within the past 6 months), this posting compares Egypt’s current stalemate with that of Poland’s in 1989. This is the parallel that I’m hoping more people see — Tahrir and the Arab World today is like Berlin and Eastern Europe in 1989. No parallel’s perfect, but I sure prefer this one to Fox’s harping of Iran 1979: How Can Egypt Get from Tahrir to Democracy? Lessons from Poland in 1989
3) A serious policy analysis of the Muslim Brotherhood appearing in the venerable Foreign Affairs journal. Thesis: they’re not as fearful, or competent, as you might think: The Muslim Brotherhood after Mubarak
4) An analysis of the revolution by Hani Shukrallah, in al-Ahram English online. This one comes widely recommended: A Uniquely Egyptian Revolution
5) …and finally, a word from Le Monde English and Alain Gresh: Freedom Makes You Giddy
6) This is a Human Rights Watch posting about a secret jail answerable to Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki recently discovered in Northwestern Baghdad: Iraq: Secret Jail Uncovered in Baghdad
[Updated Below]:
7) Issandr El-Amrani picks apart the events, moves, and counter-moves of the Egyptian revolutionary movement up through 3 Feb. His take on the parallels (and non-parallels) between Tunisia and Egypt, as well as his take on moves by the Ministry of Interior and Army, are especially valuable: Why Tunis? Why Cairo?
8 ) Adam Shatz provides another overview of the movement in Egypt, this time looking at it in terms of U.S. foreign policy and the Israeli angle. Excerpt: “A democratic government in Cairo would have to take public opinion into account, much as Erdogan’s government does in Turkey: another former US client state but one that, in marked contrast to Egypt, has escaped American tutelage, made the transition to democracy under an Islamist government, and pursued an independent foreign policy that is widely admired in the Muslim world. If Egypt became a democracy, it might work to achieve Palestinian unity, open up the crossing from Gaza and improve relations with Iran and Hizbullah: shifts which would be anathema to Israel…”: After Mubarak
9) This two hour broadcast by Democracy Now was widely praised, including field reporting and segments by “friends of the show” Rashid Khalidi, Paul Amar, and Khaled Fahmy: Uprising in Egypt: A Two Hour Special…
10) Escaped Egyptian prisoner interviewed after capture in Tahrir (Arabic): Video of Prisoner Interview
11) Police Murder a Demonstrator in Alexandria
12) This article discusses the effects of Egypt’s current instability on Study Abroad programs: After Egypt
