The livelihoods of the Egyptian people are a political priority. In the 1990s, at the behest of the IMF and the US, neoliberalism exacerbated the gap between the haves and the have-nots by ensuring that the primary benefactors of growth have been wealthy Egyptians.
Islamist parties are proving to be the main beneficiaries of the Arab world's political transformation. But their very success in the political arena highlights the huge challenges they face in developing and implementing a coherent economic programme, says Fawaz A Gerges.
There is no doubting the bravery of the revolutionaries in Egypt; however, these freedom fighters are increasingly alienated from the public at large. The Egyptian public has grown weary with violence, and this does not bode well for the revolutionaries as they continue to fight for the political
Egyptian journalist Mona el Tahawy caused a twitter storm with her latest article in Foreign Policy: Why Do They Hate Us? Tom Dale deconstructs the piece, writing that there are deeper historical roots and that el Tahawy's argument "lacks the capacity to suggest effective solutions."
In his new book, Hamid Dabashi argues that the revolutionary uprisings across the Middle East have finally put an end to postcolonialism, and that we must now re-imagine the geopolitics of the region. He spoke to JP O’Malley about why the west is no longer a powerful construct; the role women will
The Palestinians’ inability to claim their right has been reinforced by long-term failures of thinking and strategy in which the eclipse of politics by essentialism plays a major part. But the new aspirations sweeping the Arab world create potential for progress, says Hazem Saghieh.
In the second part of the interview, Libyan rapper Ibn Thabit and Egyptian rapper El Deeb tell openDemocracy's Bassam Gergi, Mazen Zoabi and Rosemary Bechler what their next steps are, what brought Egyptians and Libyans together, and how they are learning from one another.