Question:
Do you consider that what happened in Egypt on the 28th of January to be a revolution or just a popular upheaval that started big and ended with very limited impact? Does Egypt (even before the coup) look like it went through a revolution at all as compared to other revolutions?
Answer:
In my opinion, what happened was a popular uprising that could have become a revolution, but which was instead manipulated, and ultimately circumvented through a very well-managed transition period that resulted in the preservation of the basic power structure, while also improving the effectiveness of the state in imposing the Neoliberal economic program on behalf of international business.
There was never any meaningful change in the system, and despite the apparent upheaval, policies kept a remarkable degree of continuity throughout every phase of the transition, including the period of Mursi’s administration.
The significant change has been social, not political or economic. The emergence of a revolutionary spirit among the people is something new; however, without diligent concentration on policies instead of personalities and parties, this spirit will be easily manipulated and potentially either crushed or drained away gradually as leaders continue to insist on ineffective strategies, unrealistic goals, and naive and selfish attempts to grab power and position instead of genuinely confronting the system to achieve Egypt’s liberation from foreign domination