by halverson | Feb 21, 2011 | Egypt, Iran, Narrative, Politics
by Jeffry R. Halverson and Steven R. Corman Recent events in Egypt have led some quarters to suggest we are witnessing a case parallel to the 1979 revolution in Iran. Back then, the fall of the Shah left a political vacuum that allowed religious hardliners to take...
by Anand Gopal | Feb 17, 2011 | Monitor
Mahalla, Egypt–In the sprawling factories of El-Mahalla el-Kubra, a gritty, industrial town a few hours’ drive north of Cairo, lies what many say is the heart of the Egyptian revolution. “This is our Sidi Bouzid,” says Muhammad Marai, a labor...
by Anand Gopal | Feb 12, 2011 | Monitor
CAIRO—Late Thursday night, one could hear the sound of hundreds of thousands of people hushing each other. In Tahrir, the central square that has become the heart of the Egyptian revolution, they jostled, they craned their necks toward the soundstage, they inched...
by Anand Gopal | Feb 10, 2011 | Monitor
Walk south along the Nile in Cairo’s febrile downtown, past austere, colonial-vintage government buildings and stately luxury hotels, cross into Tahrir Square, and you’ll pass from one authority to another. Outside, tanks and armored personnel carriers guard Egypt’s...
by Craig Hayden | Feb 4, 2011 | Monitor
On Tuesday, February 1, 2011 I had the privilege of speaking to Dawn McCall, the Director for the Bureau of International Information Programs (or IIP) at the US Department of State. IIP along with Education and Cultural Affairs (or ECA) comprise the direct reports to...