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Bassam Haddad

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NDP Reshuffle . . . But . . . [Updated]

[Image from unknown archive]

News that President Mubarak has resigned as the head of the NDP (the ruling National Democractic Part) was apparently false. But other reshuffling and resignations within the party took place as part of a series of arrangements intended to separate the ruling party from the state. Primarily, Gamal Mubarak was removed from his post in the party as Head of the notorious Political Bureau, formed in the early 2000's largely to prop up Gamal. In fact, this is just the tip of the ...

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[1pm, Cairo] "LEAVE" (Already) . . . The Emergence of a Stronger National Consensus

[Midan al-Tahrir, 1 pm Today. Image from Marco Longari, AFP/Getty Images]

"ارحل" ("Leave")   [1 pm Cairo time; 6 am Washington DC] If Ariel Sharon wakes up from his coma and hears the full spectrum of protesters and slogans in Tahrir Square and throughout all corners of Egypt now, he would support the departure of Husni Mubarak. One must watch the footage of Tahrir Square and elsewhere in Egypt now (1pm, Cairo time). One must listen to the chants, all of them. One must watch the decorum of the protesters. One ...

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9 am in Cairo after a Hellish Night: A Brief Report of Cautious Triumph

[Image from unknown archive]

This is a brief report after what promised to be a fateful night in which the Egyptian regime had resolved to break the will of protesters, particularly in Midan al-Tahreer. Like most readers, I have been glued to the tube and the internet, following multiple channels, and reading multiple websites. If the plan was to dissuade the protesters from persisting in their defiance throughout a long and violent night, the Egyptian regime failed by all measures. Footage of crowds ...

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Egypt Now: Moving to the Next Level as Protests Continue (Updated)

[Image from unknown archive]

[This post will be regularly updated: 7:10 am, San Francisco; 5:10 pm, Cairo]   Egypt is ablaze with protesters' passion, from north to east to south, with signs that the streets are no longer in the government's control, though the regime has not yet deployed the army fully, or, worse, the various special forces at its disposal.   At this point, Alexandria is nearly fully under the protesters' control with very few government officials/police (of any sort) ...

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My Mother and My Neighbor's Dog on the Tunisian Revolution and Its Aftermath

[image from unknown archive]

[Take a look at this crap first] When Mohamed Bouazizi immolated himself in protest and set off a wave of much bigger protests in Tunis, and then elsewhere, speculation arose as to the extent to which the revolution will spread. Or, is it indeed a revolution? Maybe it was a mini-revolution, kind of like Sa`d, or baby Jesus. Alternatively, some opined, it might be just a coup. But Tunisia is old news. Protests spread quickly like, literally, a flame, to Algeria, Yemen, ...

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Why, What, Where To, and How? Tunisia and Beyond

[Image from author's archive]

[Admittedly, I wrote this post before Bin Ali fled, and before the Tunisian protests escalated. It was kind of interrupted by the events on the ground and, so, not much due jubilation here. I added some references posthumously but kept its pre-government collapse spirit at the expense of dampening the mood: Where to? . . . even if dictatorships fall. Where to? Oh, I don’t provide an answer]   The problem is that once it happens [when a dominant form of oppression ...

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Tunisia Unraveling: "I Got You" Was Two Decades Too Late Mr. Zein al-`Abideen

[Image from The Guardian]

Last night (Thursday, January 13th) Zein al-`Abideen Bin `Ali addressed the Tunisian people and said: انا فهمتكم, “I got you,” or more literally, “I understood you.” I started writing this post while watching his address, and titled it “Too Late.” But I did not imagine what would transpire directly after the speech, at least not the speed in which it took place. Watching the brutal Tunisian regime unravel at 9:30 pm (2:30 pm, Washington DC time) from the Syrian capital, ...

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Neoliberal Pregnancy and Zero-Sum Elitism in the Arab World (Part 4)

[Image from www.preggymomguide.com (oh yes)]

Implications of the New Nexus of Power This is the fourth and last installment in a series of posts on the new nexus of power in the Arab world, between the political and economic elite (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Alternatively, we can call it the new elitism, characterized by neoliberal political-economic features that pervade much of the rest of the world, including the global north. But there’s at least one serious difference: the new elitism in the developing world, and ...

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Neoliberal Pregnancy and Zero-Sum Elitism in the Arab World (Part 3)

[Image from buzzle.com]

This is the third and next to last entry in a series of posts on the emergence and consolidation of a new nexus of power between the political and economic elite across much of the Arab world (See Part 1, Part 2). This development extends far beyond the Middle East, influenced for the most part by the overlap of interests between global neoliberal economic policies/institutions and various manifestations of local power structures (primarily political and economic).[1] ...

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Neoliberal Pregnancy and Zero-Sum Elitism in the Arab World (Part 2)

[Image from, well, www.totallychiropractic.net]

In the first post (here) I introduced the topic of the new Arab elitism, or, more accurately, the emerging nexus of power between the political and economic elite. In the next post (sorry about posting another series) I'll discuss ways to pursue research on the topic. But below I will start by debunking some anticipated counterclaims regarding this phenomenon, particularly the claim that some on the left assert--ironically. The new elitism that is sweeping the ...

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Personal Posts

Homsi Comic Relief Speaks of Strong Spirits Despite All

[Screen shot from Video]

Two youngish Syrian men in Homs discuss "Bashar's Reforms" (islahaat) while pointing to the destruction of their homes (we don't know if these are indeed their homes, but that's immaterial here) and cars.  The script itself is clean and elegant as it is acerbically satirical. (though some of the comments under the Youtube video are disturbingly/disgustingly sectarian). There really is nothing to say except that it is worth watching. I apologize for not ...

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welcome back . . .

[Image from unknown archive]

I was just flying back from Amman to Washington DC on United Airlines, sitting at an aisle seat. As I looked to my left diagonally across the aisle, I saw four UA screens playing the same film, Sex in the City (2). (read reviews here, here, and here, though they don't all do justice to it--if you have other piercing reviews, please post them in the comments section. Watch the trailer here). I looked to the lady sitting to my right, and she's reading a book, which seemed to ...

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What's With World Cup Praying?

Ronaldo to the right

I don't have time to write about this now, but what's with world cup praying on behalf of so many players in the field (especially those coming in and out)? I've been watching football (the original football where one mostly uses their feet--the plural of foot, hence, "footbal"--not the sport where one mostly holds the ball using their hands) since 1974, and I have yet to witness such frequency of praying and exhibition of religious symbols. Could the economist be ...

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Bio

Bassam Haddad
 
 

Bassam Haddad is Director of the Middle East Studies Program and teaches in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University, and is Visiting Professor at Georgetown University. He is the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience (Stanford University Press, 2011). Bassam is currently editing a volume on Teaching the Middle East After the Arab Uprisings, a book manuscript on pedagogical and theoretical approaches. His most recent books include two co-edited volumes: Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of an Old Order? (Pluto Press, 2012) and Mediating the Arab Uprisings (Tadween Publishing, 2013). Bassam serves as Founding Editor of the Arab Studies Journal a peer-reviewed research publication and is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad, and director of the critically acclaimed film series, Arabs and Terrorism, based on extensive field research/interviews. More recently, he directed a film on Arab/Muslim immigrants in Europe, titled The "Other" Threat. Bassam is Co-Founder/Editor of Jadaliyya Ezine and serves on the Editorial Committee of Middle East Report. He is the Executive Director of the Arab Studies Institute, an umbrella for five organizations dealing with knowledge production on the Middle East and Founding Editor of Tadween Publishing.

 

 

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