Blog 8: Egypt

In January of 2011, I walked the riotous streets of Egypt.  Cars were overturned, small shops were set on fire, glass and litter lined the streets, gunshots rang throughout the night sky—I was witnessing my first revolution.  Violent and widespread protests consumed the streets of Egypt in dissent of the regime of President Hosni Mubarak.  Mubarak had been in power for 30 years and his regime had a reputation for restricting freedoms and staunchly holding onto power.  Many demonstrators, primarily young adults, desired a new government and a new political future.  As a result of social networks, dissatisfied citizens organized in January of 2011. As a result, large numbers of Egyptian armed troops flooded the streets to stop the protesters (Lee, 2011).  Hundreds of protestors clashed with police.  Non-violent protests turned into disgustingly violent demonstrations to remove Mubarak from office.  "We went out today and we were ready to die, so our children can live in dignity," said Mansour, a rioter. In fact, 846 people were killed and 6000 were injured (CNN, 2011).

According to David J. Samuels, revolutions are defined as “conflict within a sovereign state between insurgents and the state, in which (1) both the insurgents and the state claim the allegiance of a significant proportion of the population; (2) authority over the state is forcibly transferred from the state to the insurgents, and (3) the insurgents subsequently bring about wholesale political change (Samuels, 2012).”  The book appropriately and successfully defines revolution when dissected with the events of the most recent revolution in Egypt. The definition is specific and sound. 

Both the insurgents (young protestors) and the Egyptian state claimed the allegiance of a significant proportion of the population.  There was significant participation from both the state and the insurgents.  In fact, millions were gathered on the streets during this political unrest.  The second characteristic in this definition of a revolution is met as well; “the authority over the state is forcibly transferred from the state to the insurgents.”  The dictator, Mubarak, was eradicated on the 11^th of February and the regime changed.  Egypt made a historic transition to democracy. (The U.S. provides support to protect Egyptians’ civil liberties, human rights, and accountability in the government.)  The final factor of defining a revolution, according to Samuels, is that the insurgents subsequently brought about wholesale political change. Egypt made a successful transition to a democracy and became economically stable.  “A prosperous and democratic Egypt, buoyed by economic growth and a strong private sector, can be an anchor of stability for the MENA region” (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, 2012). Egypt experienced a revolution and it accurately identifies with every point of the book’s definition of a revolution. 

The definition in our textbook is fitting because it provides a detailed process of what a revolution is. It is imperative to include the results of a revolution, as this definition describes here, because a revolution is not solely an outburst of insurgents’ anger at a given state. A revolution requires the insurgents to forcibly transfer a state and bring about political change. Without these clarifications, many events would be defined as revolutions that clearly are not.

Sources:

Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. (2012, August 22). U.s. relations with egypt. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm

CNN. (2011, January 29). Energized protesters press for 'freedom,' revel in making history. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/01/28/egypt.color/

Lee, R. A. (2011, 11 02). Political unrest in egypt timeline (january,2011). Retrieved from http://www.historyguy.com/egypt_unrest_timeline_20

Samuels, David. Comparative Politics. 2012. New York: Pearson Education. 257-84.