Coups and Revolutions

Mass Mobilization, the Egyptian Military, and the United States from Mubarak to Sisi

Amy Austin Holmes

Includes eye-witness accounts and ethnographic observations that offer unique insights and challenge previous scholarship on the revolution in Egypt
Creates a new framework for analyzing the Egyptian state
Brings together literature on military coups and revolutions, which have often been studied as distinct phenomena

Coups and Revolutions

Mass Mobilization, the Egyptian Military, and the United States from Mubarak to Sisi

Amy Austin Holmes

Description

In 2011, Egypt witnessed more protests than any other country in the world. Counter to the received narrative, Amy Austin Holmes argues that the ousting of Mubarak in 2011 did not represent the culmination of a revolution or the beginning of a transition period, but rather the beginning of a revolutionary process that would unfold in three waves, followed by two waves of counterrevolution. This book offers the first analysis of both the revolution and counterrevolution in Egypt from January 2011 until June 2018.

The period of revolutionary upheaval played out in three uprisings against three distinct forms of authoritarian rule: the Mubarak regime and the police state that protected it, the unelected military junta known as the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, and the religious authoritarianism of the Muslim Brotherhood. The counterrevolution occurred over two periods: the first under Adly Mansour as interim president and the second after El Sisi was elected president. While the regime imprisoned or killed the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood and many secular activists during the first wave of the counterrevolution, it turned against civil society at large during the second: NGOs, charities, media, academia, and minority groups.

In addition to providing new and unprecedented empirical data, Coups and Revolutions makes two theoretical contributions. First, it presents a new framework for analyzing the state apparatus in Egypt based on four pillars of regime support that can either prop up or press upon whoever is in power. These are the Egyptian military, the business elite, the United States, and the multi-headed opposition. Secondly, the book brings together the literature on bottom-up revolutionary movements and top-down military coups, and it introduces the concept of a coup from below in contrast to the revolution from above that took place under Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Coups and Revolutions

Mass Mobilization, the Egyptian Military, and the United States from Mubarak to Sisi

Amy Austin Holmes

Part I: Revolution
1. Introduction: Revolutionary Risings in Egypt
2. Revolutions and Coups
3. "The People want to overthrow the Regime": The First Wave against the Mubarak Regime
4. "Down down with military rule": The Second Wave against the Military Junta
5. "Down down with the Supreme Guide": The Third Wave against the Muslim Brotherhood

Part II: Counter-Revolution and the Return to Military Rule
6. "Sisi is a Killer": First Wave of Counter-Revolution: Sisi as Minister of Defense
7. "Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian!": Second Wave of Counter-Revolution: Sisi as President
8. Conclusion: Waves of Revolution and Counterrevolution
Appendix: Evidence from Survey Data
Notes
References
Index

Coups and Revolutions

Mass Mobilization, the Egyptian Military, and the United States from Mubarak to Sisi

Amy Austin Holmes

Author Information

Amy Austin Holmes is Associate Professor of Sociology at the American University in Cairo, Visiting Scholar at the Weatherhead Center of Harvard University, and Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She is the author of Social Unrest and American Military Bases in Turkey and Germany since 1945. Having spent a decade living in the Middle East through the period known as the Arab Spring, she has published numerous articles on Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain, and the Kurdish regions of Iraq and Syria. She has written about human rights violations including the Rabaa/Nahda massacre which she witnessed in August 2013; the crackdown on civil society; as well as the issue of US military aid to Egypt.

Coups and Revolutions

Mass Mobilization, the Egyptian Military, and the United States from Mubarak to Sisi

Amy Austin Holmes

Reviews and Awards

"Holmes has written a useful and extremely fine-grained analysis...Holmes served as a faculty member at the American University in Cairo during most of the events she analyzes, and the work is enriched by the author's eyewitness experience of Egyptian turmoil and her interviews of numerous participants in revolutionary activity." -- W. Andrew Terrill, Middle East Journal

"Among the myriad examinations of Egypt's historic January 25th Revolution and its aftermath, Coups and Revolutions stands out for its cogent empirical analysis. Moving beyond the debates on authoritarianism, Dr. Holmes provides an insightful theoretical frame for comprehending the waves of revolutions and counter-revolutions in Egyptians' continual quest for democracy." -- Sahar Aziz, Professor of Law and Chancellors Social Justice Scholar, Rutgers University

"Coups and Revolutions is one of the best, most detailed accounts of how the counterrevolution managed to crush the Egyptian people's aspirations for political and social change. It is essential reading for scholars and revolutionaries alike to understand what went wrong with the revolt that shook the region ten years ago." -- Hossam el-Hamalawy, journalist and labor organizer

"In Coups and Revolutions, Holmes analyzes the recent waves of social mobilization in Egypt as a historical process. In doing so, she takes the reader on a journey to understanding the dynamic processes with which coups, revolutions, and counter-coups evolve and create their counter-currents. By drawing on extensive field work and interviews, Holmes offers a rich account of this trend as well as the micro-processes at play throughout Egyptian politics and society since 2011. This rich analysis adds an important lens to both the literature and the current debates on social movements and mass mobilization." -- Dalia Fahmy, Associate Professor of Political Science, Long Island University

"For someone whose life was shaped by Egypt's revolutions and coups, Holmes' detailed account of—and insights into—Egypt's tumultuous years is both painful and illuminating." -- Ezzedine C. Fishere, Senior Lecturer, Dartmouth College and former Egyptian diplomat

"In Coups and Revolutions, Amy Austin Holmes not only advances our knowledge of the multi-phase 2011-13 revolutionary upheavals in Egypt, but also contributes to theorization about revolution by introducing the concept of 'coup from below' which can be applied to other cases.ÂHer book belongs on the syllabi for courses on revolution and on Middle Eastern politics." -- Mark N. Katz, George Mason University

"In contesting the pervasive juxtaposition of the opposition elite with the regime elite, Holmes deploys a class lens that brings them together as one ruling political/financial bloc. Through this lens, she not only explains the reluctance of the working and middle-class networks that mobilized against Mubarak, Morsi, and the transitional military order between them to associate themselves with the opposition elite, but also makes sense of what faultily appeared as a paradoxical turnaround in the agenda of the contentious movement when this elite endorsed the coup and its crackdown on dissent." -- Hesham Shafick, Teaching Fellow at SOAS, University of London

"Holmes—who has not only done superb scholarship, but suffered persecution by the Sisi regime for her efforts—has done revolution and Middle Eastern studies an invaluable service. Her book should remain essential reading as the battle for Egypt's future continues." -- Dana Moss, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame

"In Coups and Revolutions, Holmes turns a fresh lens on the Egyptian uprisings. Framing recent waves of social mobilization in Egypt as a historical process, she offers a detailed account of the multiple, distinct moments of protest the country has witnessed between 2011 and 2018. Along the way, we learn much about the micro-dynamics of the revolutionary process and the ways in which coups, revolutions, and counter-coups can evolve symbiotically."-" -- Melani Cammett, Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University

"Amy Austin Holmes' take on Egypt's 2013 coup and subsequent repression is original as well as compelling, even for readers who have followed events in the country closely. Her ethnographic research on social movements including Tamarod and careful analysis of why the military crushed not only the Muslim Brotherhood but all forms of popular mobilization add much to the literature on coups and counter revolutions in general, as well as on contemporary Egypt" -- Michele Dunne, Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

"Amy Austin Holmes has written an empirically rich book on the Egyptian revolutionary uprising of 2011 and its aftermath. Her book is grounded in interviews with activists, her own participation in many of the events she describes, and contemporary video and journalist accounts. Holmes offers a novel and provocative idea for comprehending the ouster of Mohamed Morsi: a coup from below. This will undoubtedly spark debate among scholars of social movements, revolutionary change, and contemporary Egyptian politics" -- Ellis Goldberg, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington

"Coups and Revolutions masterfully analyzes the waves of revolution and counterrevolution in Egypt between 2011 and 2018. Holmes' analysis rests upon both a close familiarity with events in Egypt and a nuanced deployment of social-scientific theories of coups and revolutions. Her novel concept of 'coup from below' will surely generate much discussion and debate. Read this book to understand why and how a promising revolution was ruthlessly crushed" -- Jeff Goodwin, Professor of Sociology, New York University