Egypt beyond Tahrir Square
On January 25, 2011, the world's eyes were on Egypt's Tahrir Square as millions of people poured into the city center to call for the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak. Since then, few scholars or journalists have been given the opportunity to reflect on the nationwide moment of transformation and the hope that was embodied by the Egyptian Revolution. In this important and necessary volume, leading Egyptian academics and writers share their eyewitness experiences. They examine how events unfolded in relation to key social groups and institutions such as the military, police, labor, intellectuals, Coptic Christians, and the media; share the mood of the nation; assess what happened when three recent regimes of Egyptian rule came to an end; and account for the dramatic rise and fall of the Muslim Brotherhood. The contributors' deep engagement with politics and society in their country is evident and sets this volume apart from most of what has been published in English about the Arab Spring. The diversity of views brought together here is a testament to the contradictions and complexities of historical and political changes that affect Egypt and beyond.
Bessma Momani is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Waterloo and the Balsillie School of International Affairs. She is author of Arab Dawn: Arab Youth and the Demographic Dividend They Will Bring.
Eid Mohamed is Assistant Professor of Transnational Literary and Cultural Studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and the University of Guelph. He is author of Arab Occidentalism: Images of America in the Middle East.