This week concludes our two-part discussion of the 'Politics of Development.' We continue to think about the history of development as a form of political practice and knowledge in relation to Egypt by comparing and contrasting the ways in which economic and cultural accounts of the 21st century economic and political condition of the Middle East diagnose the region's problems. Moving forward in time, this week focuses on how transformations of the mid- to late 20th century are relevant for assessing contemporary proposals for economic and political reform.

Questions:

Using the example of British empire in Egypt, what lessons does Ferguson believe the US (in Iraq) should take from the British experience in Egypt? What does he mean by the expression, 'going home or organizing hypocrisy'?

Compare Ferguson to Mitchell's account of political and economic reform in Egypt in the late 19th and early 20th century. Who are the main actors in their accounts and what additional forces does Mitchell factor?

Following the 1952 military coup, what major reforms were introduced?

In the 1990s, Egypt introduced far more extensive structural reforms of the economy. What were the nature and outcome of these reforms? The creation of an independent constitutional court suggested that economic liberalization would also require political liberalization (Mustafa). What happened (Rule of Experts)?

What might the authors of contemporary reform proposals (IMF, World Bank, AHDR) learn from this?

Readings:

Nial Ferguson, Colossus: The Price of America’s Empire (2005), chp 6. (‘Going home or organizing Hypocrisy’) pp. 200-226.

Timothy Mitchell, Rule of Experts (University of California Press, 2002), Chps 1, 7 and 8. [ebook]

Tamir Mustafa, ‘Law versus State: The Judicialization of Politics in Egypt,’ Law and Social Inquiry (Fall 2003), pp. 883-930.

(Recommended) UNDP, Arab Human Development Report (2002), chp 6. (pp. 85-104).

(Recommended) IMF, Public Information Note no. 04/69, July 12 2004, available at: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/pn0469

(Recommended) World Bank, Egypt: Social and Structural Review, Executive Summary,’ pp. i-ix.

Recommended Readings:

Issandr El Amrani, “Controlled Reform in Egypt: Neither Reformist nor Controlled,” Middle East Report Online, December 15, 2005.

Samer Shehata and Joshua Stacher, “The Brotherhood Goes to Parliament,” Middle East Report 240, Fall 2006,

Samer Shehata and Joshua Stacher, “Boxing In the Brothers,” Middle East Report Online, August 8, 2007