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Egypt
The Mystery of Capital
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The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else |
Hernando de Soto's brilliant (and surprisingly elegant) theories on extralegal property systems, dead capital and rentier/vampire states can easily be applied to any number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa. In fact, Aqoul once elaborated on his Egypt case study by examining Cairo's collapsing building problem in the context of weak property laws, poor accountability and nonexistent enforcement.
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Posted by eerie at 07:45 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Midaq Alley
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Midaq Alley |
I generally avoid fiction and know very little about modern literature in the region, but I found this book by Naguib Mahfouz immensely appealing. The setting is Cairo, specifically a small neighbourhood in the old city during WWII. Every character is vaguely reprehensible yet interesting in terms of motivations and appetites. My favourite portrayal is Hamida, because in a bizarre way she reminds me of myself (don't judge, we are all narcissists). It's not often that I can relate to female characters in fiction, usually they're simpering, maudlin, 2-dimensional caricatures, but Hamida has a very unusual temperament, especially when one considers the setting. She is beautiful (and knows it), fickle, aggressive and bent on an existence that is something more extraordinary than an unrewarding life in Midaq Alley. However, she's not entirely sure what she wants, or how to achieve it within acceptable social boundaries. Her willingness to marry and have children is based entirely on the potential for increased status, so she is quite cavalier with prospective suitors.
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Posted by eerie at 11:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Palace Walk
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Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy) |
Part of the famed Cairo Trilogy, Palace Walk is the story of a Cairo family headed by a pious, oppressive authoritarian (or so his family believes). Every night, he meets up with friends and leads a hidden bon vivant life of debauchery, adultery and indulgence. His wife, who hasn't left the house in 25 years, is content with being completely obedient and submissive, though she's prone to attacks of anxiety and self-doubt. Mahfouz spends a lot of time fleshing out his characters and explaining motivations and the story touches on a lot of "issues", such as marriage, morals, nationalism and the British protectorate.
Posted by eerie at 06:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Pan-Arabism before Nasser: Egyptian Power Politics and the Palestine Question
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Pan-Arabism before Nasser: Egyptian Power Politics and the Palestine Question (Studies in Middle Eastern History) |
Fascinating book, that while agreeing the pan-Arabism was indeed an organic movement, posits that in the immediate post-WW II era it was at least half-cynically manipulated by Egypt (in alliance with Saudi Arabia and a fragile Syria) as a propaganda tool to counter what were regarded as their primary foreign policy threats - Great Britain (then still a dominant player in the region) and the alliance of Hashemite Jordan (the strongest Arab power militarily at the time) and Iraq, then in detente with Turkey. Israel/Palestine in this analysis was only a very tertiary concern and for example even the 1948 Arab-Israeli War was pushed by Egypt, less because they expected to succeed (soberly, they did not, though they would have been pleased if they had), but more to divert Jordanian attention (in particular from Syria, which they claimed and threatened).
Posted by Tamerlane at 08:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
All the Pashas Men: Mehmed Ali His Army and the Making of Modern Egypt
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All the Pashas Men: Mehmed Ali His Army and the Making of Modern Egypt |
This book investigates how a "defensive developmentalist" (in this case Mehmet Ali Pasha in Egypt) organized his army and in the process transformed the country.
Posted by raf* at 07:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Colonising Egypt
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Colonising Egypt |
One of the (now) classic studies that uses deconstruction theory to examine how colonization affected all aspects of society, and argues that the physical effects are not the most important ones. E-book version available here.
Posted by Tamerlane at 07:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Making Big Money in 1600: The Life and Times of Isma'Il Abu Taqiyya, Egyptian Merchant
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Making Big Money in 1600: The Life and Times of Isma'Il Abu Taqiyya, Egyptian Merchant (Middle East Studies Beyond Dominant Paradigms) |
A whimsical choice, but it is an interesting examination of pre-modern social history from an individual point of view as well as an interesting insight into the changing economic scene of the period, with the rise of nascent capitalism.
Posted by Tamerlane at 06:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
