Beginning last December and January, the Middle East and North Africa exploded in protests. From Morocco to Yemen, huge numbers of people spontaneously rose up to demonstrate against their corrupt and incompetent governments. But the center of this Arab Spring was Egypt.
There, after 18 days of demonstrations that drew millions of people into the streets, President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year grip on power came to an abrupt end. When Mubarak left, so did the television cameras. And while headlines have moved on, there is still news from Egypt. In the podcast, historian Nancy Gallagher talks about what has happened in Egypt over the past six months and what can be expected there in the future.
Gallagher is a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who specializes in modern Middle East history, particularly in Egypt. She describes a tumultuous political landscape in Egypt, with bigger demonstrations than ever and multiple political groups jostling for political power. The military is in charge for now, but the jury is still out on whether they will cede ground to the many Islamist and secular organizations that are stepping forward.
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Audio for this podcast includes Bring It On No Vox by Jamie Miller and David Matheson; Identity of Self by His Boy Elroy; and demonstrations in Tahrir Square recorded by Al Jazeera.
[powerpress]
