Bread and Freedom: Egypt's Revolutionary Situation

Bread and Freedom provides a new perspective on Egypt's 2011 revolutionary mobilization, based on a documentary record hidden in plain sight. It reveals a range of actors vying over ultimate political authority, a contest that was terminated by the 2013 military coup. Mona El-Ghobashy rethinks how we study revolutions, looking past causes and consequences to focus on the collisions of revolutionary politics.

Format: Hardback
Length: 392 pages
Publication date: 13 July 2021
Publisher: Stanford University Press

Bread and Freedom: A Multivocal Account of Egypt's Defeated Revolution

Egypt's 2011 revolutionary mobilization, hidden in plain sight, is explored in Bread and Freedom. This documentary record includes party manifestos, military communiqués, open letters, constitutional contentions, protest slogans, parliamentary debates, and court decisions. The sources reveal a range of actors vying over ultimate political authority, a contest terminated by the 2013 military coup.

Now, a decade after the Arab uprisings, Mona El-Ghobashy rethinks how we study revolutions. She moves beyond simple judgments and explores the collisions of revolutionary politics. Bread and Freedom takes seriously the political conflicts that developed after President Hosni Mubarak's ouster, a thirty-month period when ruling Egypt without the Egyptians was impossible.

The book challenges the conventional narratives of Egypt's revolution, highlighting the complex dynamics and competing claims to sovereignty. It explores the role of social media, youth movements, and civil society organizations in shaping the revolution and its aftermath. Bread and Freedom sheds light on the challenges faced by the transitional government, including economic instability, political polarization, and the rise of extremist groups.

The book also examines the international dimension of Egypt's revolution, exploring the role of foreign powers, regional dynamics, and global trends in shaping the country's political landscape. It highlights the complexities of the post-revolutionary transition, including the struggle for democratic governance, human rights, and social justice.

In conclusion, Bread and Freedom offers a fresh and nuanced account of Egypt's defeated revolution, challenging the simplistic narratives that have dominated the discourse. It provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of revolutions and their complex dynamics, offering insights into the challenges and opportunities of political change in the Middle East and beyond.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781503601765