Counterrevolution in Egypt: Sisi's New Republic

by Hossam el-Hamalawy, Unknown Author

A comprehensive exploration of Egypt's security services and their tactics in quelling dissent, this book provides a detailed analysis of the military, police, and intelligence agencies' structures, hierarchies, and methods. It reveals their strategies to suppress the 2011 revolution, including propaganda, surveillance, mass arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings, and how their uneasy alliance shaped Egypt's political landscape.

Genres: Egypt, History, Politics, Middle East, Nonfiction, Northern Africa

Paperback

Reviews

[Tom Lewandowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excruciatingly detailed portrait of the security services development under Mubarak and their subsequent reorganization under Sisi. At certain points it does devolve into a blizzard of acronyms and names that are a bit hard to keep straight but overall an important study of the apparatus of control that is strangling the lifeblood of Egyptian society. It's one of the great tragedies of our time that the 2011 revolution resulted in a regime that is significantly more brutal, repressive, and militarized than the one it replaced.

[SALEM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Know you enemy.


The ultimate reference (with complete documentation) for every step taken by Sisi and Co, for how to control a nation.

[Michal Lipták · Rating 3 out of 5]

A note. On page 238, el-Hamalawy writes:

Abdelatty was a vocal supporter of the 2013 coup and defended the regime against human rights critics abroad. His most controversial posting was in Berlin from 2015 to 2019, during which his embassy became overtly active in spying on Egyptian dissidents abroad, cemented bilateral security ties with the German government, and oversaw massive arms deals. Germany had authorised sales to Egypt, totalling only €160 million between 2010 and 2015. However, with Abdelatty's arrival in Berlin, Egypt became one of the top importers of German military hardware. The sales volume amoutned to €399 million in 2016, making Egypt the fourth largest recipient of German arms worldwide, €708 million in 2017 (ranked fourth), €14 million in 2018 (ranked 39th), and €802 million in 2019 (ranked third).

El-Hamalawy meticulously describes how army regime - and army itself - is involved in systematic, massive and brutal persecution of Egyptians, how it is involved in systematic killing - including mass casualties of uninvolved civilians -, disappearence, imprisonement without trial, torture, rape, and demolishing of entire neighbourhoods and cities (such as Egyptian Rafah, which was completely levelled years before the Palestinian Rafah). By standards set by EU laws arms transfers to such entity are illegal and arms embargo should have been imposed on Egypt after coup in 2013. The way the Western world so quickly moved on after the counterrevolutionary coup, after the unprecedented massacre of thousand peaceful protesters at Rabaa on August 14, 2013, is simply hideous and shameful, the earliest signal that its alleged rhetoric about "values" is but a hot air. Of course, as it since then aided and abetted genocide, even such brutality feels like a footnote.

El-Hamalawy describes a military junta that was designed as coup-proof before 2011 revolution trying to become revolution-proof after 2013 coup. As a result, the contemporary Egyptian state is on the orders more repressive, brutal, violent and centralized. El-Hamalawy, however, in principle argues that both strategies comes with drawbacks with ultimately leave a regime exposed. Dictatorships ultimately cannot hold. Hopefully, he'll be proven right.

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meticulous deep dive into how Sisi & Egypt’s army rulers managed to rebuild their chokehold on society after the near death experience of the Arab Spring. Hamalawy goes into excruciating detail describing crisscrossing alliances between various factions of the deep state, the deals they cut after the revolution in 2011 and how the MB were ultimately destroyed by their Faustian bargain with the army state. It’s a pretty bleak picture that is painted after, the repression under Sisi surpasses that of Mubarak across the board and it’s staggering reading about the level of militarisation occurring across all areas of society. This book is a strong prophylactic against any apologia for the regime as some kind of secular bulwark against the Muslim Brotherhood you sometimes see voiced. Extremely important book for understanding Egypt today.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very comprehensive reading into egypt's security apparatus and it's role in the evolution of Egyptian politics. it's very detailed, so much so I felt lost at times. nevertheless, I come out of this reading with a stronger understanding of Egyptian politics and the core role that the military and other security constituencies have played in the country's politics. it helps readers understand the current "second/new republic" and ties it back to a long-standing tradition of the military's involvement in politics.

[Ziad · Rating 4 out of 5]

"محمد علي" نجح في القضاء علي "فوضي" نظام المماليك،لكنه ابقي عليه في صورة "الدولة" عشان تفهم اكتر شوف اللي حصل مع عنان وشفيق لما خرجوا عن الإجماع وجربوا يترشحوا بنفسهم،ايام المماليك كان بيحصل الكلام دا وبينتهي بحروب ومؤامرات بين اجنحة الحكم المتصارعة!

كتاب ممتاز وتشريح -بالمعلومات المتاحة- عن دور الأجهزة الأمنية في مصر،نفسيا كنت حزين وانا بقرأ تاريخ واحداث عشتها بنفسي وبتحسر علي فرصة ضاعت مننا ان مصر تبقي بلد بمعني الكلمة.

[Saher Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely informative and indispensable book to anyone trying to understand the workings of what came to be known as Egypt’s “New Republic” on the micro scale and to anyone looking to learn about how popular revolutions, especially contemporary ones, get defeated in the grand scale of things. Very well written.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly feel a bit mad that I don't at all remember Egyptian activists talking about the war in the Sinai at the time that it happened. It seems so important?

This is a great overview of what has changed since the coup and Sisi's takeover. The first half goes into painstaking detail about the structure of the state security apparatus before and after and the personalities involved and the second half really pulls it all together IMO.

[Mohamed · Rating 4 out of 5]

جيد جداً في تشريح ادوار أجهزة الأمن قبل الثورة و بعد الانقلاب