Contributions
Opinion articles
The Cabinet’s plans for economic recovery seem to revolve solely around one theme: the attraction of foreign capital inflows. The official discourse diagnoses the country’s economic ordeal in terms of low growth rates, dwindling foreign...
Egypt currently suffers from a number of interrelated economic problems: an ever-widening budget deficit, swarming public debt and alarmingly dwindling foreign reserves. All three threaten the economy with deeper recession and higher...
The 25 January revolution can be considered the final showdown of the Nasserist socio-political order, which has been slowly decaying since the 1967 defeat. Nasserism was based on a paternalistic authoritarian state where political rights...
Drafting Egypt’s post-revolution constitution has been quite a troublesome process. Whereas the formation of the first Constituent Assembly stirred a great political controversy and caused the judiciary to dissolve it, the second and current...
Days after the breakout of the 25 January revolt and before the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, his chief spy, Omar Suleiman, proposed a long and detailed legalistic plan to solve Egypt’s political impasse. Suleiman was planning to buy time until...
A few days ago, I was invited to a meeting for the World Bank’s office in Cairo to discuss a document outlining its transitional strategy for development in Egypt. This document supposedly reflects the World Bank’s priorities in...
The first round of parliamentary elections has sent shock waves through many Egyptians. The Salafi Nour Party garnered almost 25 percent of the votes. The ascent of the Salafis was perceived is God’s revenge where tradition deals a fatal blow...
On 31 October, a group of researchers, activists and civil society organizations will launch the Egyptian Debt Audit and Cancellation Campaign in coordination with international actions in Europe and Latin America. The main goal of the campaign is...
On 5 July 2010, Nasr Hamed Abu-Zaid passed away. The renowned thinker and reformer had left behind a complex body of work critiquing Islamic heritage and discourse. His writings are even more relevant today, as Arab societies embark on political...
The recent decision to reject the loan deal offered by the International Monetary Fund has been received with much relief by the Egyptian public. Many economists and politicians voiced concerns about the impact of conditionality on Egypt’s...