Summerschool 2014 Social Transformation/ Social Movements and Politics. Examples and Lessons from North Africa and the Middle East, 19-20 September Location: Haus St. Leodegar-Str.15, Lucerne https://www.unilu.ch/uni-leben/hochschulseelsorge/haus-st-leodegar-str-15/ Organisation: Thomas Hüsken Outline The revolutionary political, social and cultural events during the Arab spring in 2011 have been widely acclaimed as a transformation of Arab societies towards democratization. However, since 2011 dramatic and partly violent confrontations between different conceptions of politics, governance and society take place in countries like Egypt or Libya. These conceptions are promoted by political actors and social movements that are partly new, enrouted in political Islam, or represent specific forms of retraditionalisation or political restauration (in Egypt the military and the elites of the Mubarak-regime play a specific role). The interactions between these groups create a competitive and often violent heterachy of political ideas and practices that may be the dominant form of order for the comming years. The summerschool takes the experiences in Egypt and Libya as an orientation point to reflect and discuss about politics and social movements in North Africa and the Middle East during and after the Arab Spring. It combines academic analysis with the perspectives of artists.
Transcript
Summerschool 2014
Social Transformation/ Social Movements and Politics. Examples and Lessons from North Africa and the Middle East, 19-20 September
The revolutionary political, social and cultural events during the Arab spring in 2011
have been widely acclaimed as a transformation of Arab societies towards
democratization. However, since 2011 dramatic and partly violent confrontations
between different conceptions of politics, governance and society take place in
countries like Egypt or Libya. These conceptions are promoted by political actors and
social movements that are partly new, enrouted in political Islam, or represent
specific forms of retraditionalisation or political restauration (in Egypt the military and
the elites of the Mubarak-regime play a specific role). The interactions between these
groups create a competitive and often violent heterachy of political ideas and
practices that may be the dominant form of order for the comming years.
The summerschool takes the experiences in Egypt and Libya as an orientation point
to reflect and discuss about politics and social movements in North Africa and the
Middle East during and after the Arab Spring. It combines academic analysis with
the perspectives of artists.
Program
Day One, 19/09/2014 (9.30)
Welcome and Introduction by Thomas Hüsken
Session 1 (10.30-11.45)
Underground Music and the Egyptian Revolution
Ferida Jawad, Cairo
The Egyptian revolution of 2011 brought to the surface a multitude of underground music artists who expressed their opposition to the Mubarak regime. As a true explosion of songs followed Mubarak’s stepping down, simultaneously, the formal music establishment started to create the ‘song track of the revolution’ that included some underground artists but excluded most. Since the rule of president Morsi posed serious threats to the arts, artists of all kinds actively joined protests and productivity and creativity flourished once more. But the euphoria over the removal of Morsi from office was quickly replaced by more complex challenges after president el-Sisi’s rise to power.
Session 2 (12.00-13.15)
The Rise of the Local in Libya: Social Movements or Elite Politics?
Wolfram Lacher, German Institute for International and Security Affairs
In post-revolutionary Libya, the political landscape and territorial control are fragmented. A multitude of actors engage in power struggles, exerting nuisance power, blocking decision-making, and preventing the re-establishment of central government control. These actors are mostly organized at the local level. Their influence derives from control over local territory and the ability to speak for local constituencies – cities, tribes, ethnic groups, or regions. To what extent has this evolution been driven by local social movements, and to what extent by local elites? Drawing on examples from Misrata and Bani Walid, my research suggests that elites are key players in the ongoing power struggles between locally-organized political forces. My analysis focuses on the strategic choices open to local elites in national politics.
Lunch Break (13.15-14.15)
Session 3
Wrap Up Workshop and Discussion (14.15-15.30)
Thomas Hüsken
Barbecue in the Evening at Haus St. Leodegar (17.00)
Day Two, 20/09/2014 (9.30)
Session 1 (9.30-12.30)
Non-Political Contexts: Claiming the Everyday in Cairo in Times of Unrest
Aymon Kreil, University of Zurich
Tulip Revolution as a Non-movement
Eliza Isabaeva, University of Zurich
The Emergence of Labour Movement in a Jordan Phosphate Mine Company (JPMC) between 2011 and 2014
Claudie Fiorini, Graduate Institute CH
Lunch Break (12.30-14.00)
Session 2
Music, Activism and Politics in contemporary Egypt (14.00-15.15)
Ramy Essam, Cairo
Session 3 (15.15-18.00)
Art War - Movie and Discussion
Marco Wilms, Director
Open end with food and drinks at Haus St. Leodegar
Participants
Ramy Essam, Cairo. Is an Egyptian musician. He is best known for his appearances
in Tahrir Square in Cairo during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. His song Irhal
(leave!), in which Mubarak is urged to resign, gained great popularity among the
demonstrators. It became internationally known through Youtube and is referred as
the anthem of the revolution.
Thomas Hüsken, Lucerne. Thomas is senior lecturer at the department for social
and cultural anthropology of the University of Lucerne. His current habilitation project
is about “Tribal Politics in the Borderland of Egypt and Libya”.
Heinz Käufeler, University of Zürich. Heinz Käufeler is associate professor at the
department of social and cultural anthropology of the University of Zürich. His
research interests are sitauted around politics, social change, complex societies and
social movements. His regional foci are the Near and Middle East and the Caribbean.
Heinz will represent the Swiss Graduate Program.
Ferida Jawad, Cairo. Ferida has a long experience as Instructor of Arabic Language
and Middle East Studies at the University of Groningen and the Netherlands Flemish
Institute at Cairo. Next to translating for international organizations such as the
United Nations and the Carter Center Mission in Egypt, she is working as a freelance
researcher as well. Ferida has activily participated in and researched the Egyptian
revolution and current social and political developments.
Wolfram Lacher, Berlin. Wolfram Lacher is a researcher at the German Institute for
International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, SWP) in Berlin.
His research focuses on Libya and security issues in the Sahel/Sahara region. He
currently works on elite change in Libya, in the framework of the SWP research “Elite
Change and New Social Mobilization in the Arab World”. Before joining SWP in 2010,
he worked as a North Africa analyst at Control Risks, a business risk consultancy in
London, from 2007 to 2010. Wolfram Lacher studied Arabic and African languages
and history, International Relations, as well as Conflict and Development Studies at
Leipzig University, the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales in
Paris, the American University in Cairo (AUC), and the School of Oriental and African
Studies (SOAS) in London. Recent publications include: “Libya’s Transition: Towards
Collapse”, SWP Comments, May 2014; “Libya’s Fractious South and Regional
Instability”, Small Arms Survey Dispatch, February 2014; “Fault Lines of the
Revolution: Political Actors, Camps and Conflicts in the New Libya”, SWP Research
Paper, May 2013; “Organized Crime and Conflict in the Sahel-Sahara Region”,
Carnegie Paper, September 2012; “Families, Tribes and Cities in the Libyan
