Article
Amr Hamzawy, Kathryn Selfe
{
"authors": [
"Amr Hamzawy"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
],
"collections": [
"Arab Awakening"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North Africa",
"Egypt"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform"
]
}
Source: Getty
In The Media
The Egyptian Protests
Egyptian authorities have banned protests and tightened security overnight to prevent demonstrators from repeating the rally on January 25, when thousands took to the streets of Cairo to denounce President Hosni Mubarak.
By Amr Hamzawy
Published on Jan 27, 2011
Source: Bloomberg
Egyptian authorities have banned protests and tightened security overnight to prevent demonstrators from repeating the rally on January 25, when thousands took to the streets of Cairo to denounce President Hosni Mubarak. Bloomberg spoke with Carnegie's Amr Hamzawy about the growing civil unrest in Egypt.
Hamzawy noted that whether the current uprising in Cairo will have the same outcome as the Jasmine revolution in Tunisia depends on a number of factors. It took the opposition in Tunisia four weeks to topple former President Ben Ali’s regime and force him to leave the country, Hamzawy said, and it is still too early to predict whether the protests in Egypt will lead to political change.
It is significant that the Egyptian middle class is now fueling the demonstrations, which call for efficient solutions to the widening gap between rich and poor, Hamzawy contended. Additionally, educated young male and female Egyptians are mobilizing on their own, outside of any calls from political leaders. They demand political freedoms and civil liberties and call for the opening of the political arena and better contestation of the parliamentary and presidential elections, as well as social justice and equal distribution of the wealth. Hamzawy suggested that Egyptian youth have been inspired by the recent events in Tunisia.
To counter the escalating protests, Egyptian authorities are stepping in: they have shut down or limited access to social media tools and outlets like Twitter and Facebook, in an attempt to control and contain the demonstrations, which are rapidly turning into nationwide protest movements. But Hamzawy asserted that activists, as proven in Tunisia, are able to get around such censorship and can continue to organize and mobilize.
About the Author
Amr Hamzawy
Director, Middle East Program
Amr Hamzawy is a senior fellow and the director of the Carnegie Middle East Program. His research and writings focus on Egypt’s and other middle powers’ involvement in regional security in the Middle East, particularly through collective diplomacy and multilateral conflict resolution
- In the Middle East and North Africa, America and China Converge More Than They Diverge
- The Iran War Shows the Limits of U.S. PowerArticle
Amr Hamzawy
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
- Egypt’s Military Landlord Economy and its LimitationsPaper
The armed forces champion a form of capitalism that is generating revenue, but its reliance on rent faces diminishing returns, leaving the country with massive sunk costs and deferred returns, deepening dependency on external borrowing.
Yezid Sayigh
- The West’s Climate Colonialism in the Greater Middle EastCommentary
There is a disturbing structural parallel between the old global energy economy and the new green transition.
Angie Omar
- World Cup 2026: A Middle East and North Africa PrimerCommentary
This will be the region’s most representative tournament, amid broad changes in its footballing landscape.
Issam Kayssi
- Climate Pressures in Algeria: The Crisis in Rural KabylieArticle
Understanding how farmers in the Oued Sahel-Soummam Valley grapple with climate change is essential for addressing the paradoxes through which adaptation, operating at both individual and institutional levels, deepens the region’s vulnerability and erodes the social fabric and agrarian identity that once defined life.
Ilyssa Yahmi
- Egypt’s Discreet Role in the Ceasefire with IranCommentary
Cairo’s efforts send a message to the United States and the region that it still has a place at the diplomatic table.
Angie Omar
