Egypt under El-Sisi

This clear-eyed, incisive account of the Sisi regime as it is should be required reading for students of comparative politics and for anyone considering supporting a military coup anywhere in the name of restoring democracy. – Mark Lynch, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University; Director, Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Egypt under Sisi claims to be a narrative of the rise of a military dictatorship and the demise of the traditional post-Nasserist liberal autocracy. But that is just a scratch of the surface. The book’s relevance goes far beyond that, especially to students of Gramsci and post-Marxist critical thought. The reading presented in the book points to an exceptional form of “passive revolution”, which has no class of beneficiaries other than the violent force– the military – itself; a structural arrangement that looks like a product of a typical military coup, except that it is not. – Hesham Shafick * LSE Review of Books *
Maged Mandour’s is a voice that is crucial to an understanding of contemporary Egypt. The acute economic analyses and political acumen he brings to all his work is the measure of a writer committed to rigorous, objective and robust journalism. For anyone even mildly interested in the country and its trajectory Egypt Under Sisi is a must-read. * Wlliam Law, Editor, Arab Digest *
Egypt under El-Sisi is without a doubt a necessary read for anyone trying to grasp the basic ways Egyptian political life has been transformed under Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. – Usman Butt * The New Arab *
Egypt under El-Sisi thoroughly examines the systematic, structural, and institutionalized nature of violence and repression under the post-coup regime of General Sisi in Egypt … the book represents a rich contribution to future scholarship on perpetration and perpetrators in Egypt. * Journal of Perpetrator Research *
Mandour captured the essence of the past decade’s trajectory in Egypt. Maged carefully traces the re-emergence of Egypt’s military within a polarized social and political context. Painstaking, thoughtful, and vivid, Mandour’s voice not only bears witness but cuts through to the crux of Egypt’s current dynamics. A highly recommended read for anyone looking to understand Egypt and grapple with its future. * Intissar Fakir, Senior Fellow and Director, Middle East Institute · *
In this striking and beautifully written analysis of Egypt under Al-Sisi, Maged Mandour tears away the façade of military continuity, laying bare how, in the wake of Tahrir Square, deep restructuring and ideological transformation concentrated power in a dictatorship that is a radically new phenomenon – not only violently repressive but also structurally barricaded against democracy. It is a shocking, meticulously documented account of the complete militarization of the Egyptian state, which Mandour subtly reveals is also ruinously brittle, a flaw that could eventually shatter the whole edifice. * Roxane Farmanfarmaian, Dr, University of Cambridge, UK *
Mandour demonstrates powerfully through this detailed anatomy of the regime of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi that it represents a radical break in modern Egyptian history, differing significantly from all the authoritarian regimes that preceded it since the army overthrew the monarchy in 1952. Mandour makes two special contributions. First, revealing the extent to which “the regime is following a deliberate policy of militarization of civilian institutions.” And second, showing that this regime is wedded to violence to a pathological degree - we are used to associating depraved, pleasure-taking violence to the brutal regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Asad, but Sisi’s draws from similar wells. * Yezid Sayigh, Senior Fellow, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center *
Mandour shows how Sisi has fundamentally reshaped the Free Officers’ state. * The Times Literary Supplement *
The book is a key text for Middle Eastern scholars seeking rich case studies on military-civil relations. * Middle East Eye *
Armed with Gramscian tools, Mandour dissects Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s regime, explaining how it was, in fact, a new regime, with more discontinuities than similarities with Mubarak’s authoritarian formula in the fields of politics, economics, and the social sphere. * International Journal of Middle East Studies *
Mandour’s study provides compelling insight into how El-Sisi’s exercise of power works, convincingly explaining how his rule differs from that of his predecessors and how he reshapes the power apparatus to consolidate the regime in ways reminiscent of an Orwell novel. * The Markaz Review *
[Adds] to our understanding of Egypt in important ways and [pushes] us to reflect on some of the country’s and the moment’s specificities. * The Middle East Journal *
Amid the intense repression that defines Egypt today—including the silencing of academic voices—Egypt under El-Sisi stands out as a courageous and timely piece of work. * Democratization *

Maged Mandour is an Egyptian political analyst who writes regularly for outlets such as Middle East Eye, openDemocracy, the Arab Digest, and the journal of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has made a number of media appearances as a commentator on Egyptian affairs and is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, UK.

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