Harvard KSG Egypt talk
The Belfer Center has posted a podcast of my January 28 talk here. It’s one of the most accurate distillations of the story in “Once Upon a Revolution” and its likely implication for Egyptian politics going forward. I argue that another explosion is inevitable, whenever Sisi’s formula of repression and Gulf-funded buyouts reaches its limits, and that new political ideas are taking shape in Egypt. I do not, however, argue (as the summary attached to this podcast suggests) that pluralism is an inevitable outcome. I think it’s clear that the ruling ideas and coalitions in Egyptian and Arab politics are shifting. There is no reason, however, to assume that they will shift into a more inclusive, participatory, liberal, or pluralistic direction. In my view that’s a desirable outcome, but it’s just one of many possibilities.
