Article on the study of islamist movements

10 Years On: New Contextual Factors in the Study of Islamism

Authors: Lucia Ardovini (UI) & Erika Biagini
October, 2021

Abstract

Although the popular protests that swept across the Middle East and North Africa in 2011 were short-lived, their long-term consequences are still resonating through the region a decade after their outbreak. Islamist movements have been affected in different ways by the drastic change in the political, social and geographical contexts in which they historically operated, highlighting the need for a renewed examination of these changed circumstances. Based on the case study of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, we argue that three key factors need to be accounted for when studying Islamist movements in the aftermath of the 2011 uprisings. These are the dimension of exile; the increased role played by women and youth; and the emergence of cross-generational and cross-ideological alliances. The article analyzes these three factors through a comparative study of responses by Muslim Brotherhood and Muslim Sisterhood members to repression across Egypt, Turkey and the UK.

Article on women’s mobilisation against sexual violence in Egypt

Sustaining motivation: post-revolutionary oppositional consciousness among young Egyptian feminists

Author: Emma Sundkvist (Lund University)
July, 2021

The Journal of North African Studies

Abstract

Activism against sexual violence was one of the Egyptian Revolution’s most significant mobilising forces, but the country’s return to authoritarian rule has circumvented possibilities for organising and carrying out political resistance, including activism against sexual harassment. This article shows that despite this political oppression, young feminists continue to raise their voices and organise against the continuing problem of sexual violence. To illustrate this, the article draws on interviews considering a recent controversy surrounding allegations of sexual violence within the Egyptian political party Bread and Freedom.

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A report on Lebanon’s ‘October revolution’

Street Solidarity: A Report on Lebanon’s ‘October Revolution’

Author: Erin Cory (Malmö University)
2020

FIELD

Abstract

A report from November 2019, when the revolution was at its beginning.

“The sit-ins and dance parties feel long ago indeed in the face of mounting desperation. Lebanese politics has never lent itself to neat conclusions. Modes of dissent and solidarity, too, quickly change in color and scope in Lebanon, depending on what the moment calls for. We might expect the revolution – and the protests that carry it – to continue in some form, even if only, for the moment, online.”

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