Revolutions: A comparative analysis of Iran (1979) and Egypt (2011)

The American Historical Review, 1996

Jonathan Kelly and Herbert S. Klein, "Revolution and the Rebirth of Inequality. A Theory Applied to the National Revolution of Bolivia." Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981, 279pp.

Third World Quarterly, 2020

We held the ‘Revolutions’ conference in 2017 to commemorate the Russian Revolution and redeem the actual record of revolutions in the Third World for the left. A quarter-century after the demise of the USSR, we found liberal capitalist triumphalism unwarranted. Two of the most important expectations to which it gave rise – that the world had become ‘unipolar’ and that it would enjoy a ‘peace dividend’ – remained unfulfilled. Instead, the world became multipolar and the West, led by the United States, engaged in unprecedented economic and military aggression against countries that contested its power. If this were not enough, social unrest and explosions in the First World as well as the Third underlined the relevance of revolutions. To trace their lineage, we recall capitalism’s intimate relation with revolution. It has needed revolutions to usher it into history and to usher it out. In addition to revolutions against developed capitalism, we also underline how important and necessary revolutions against nascent capitalism in various parts of the world have been. The contributions in this volume explore different parts of this lineage and vivify revolutions for our time. This Special Issue of Third World Quarterly is co-edited by Radhika Desai and Henry Heller.

Third World Quarterly, 2020

We held the ‘Revolutions’ conference in 2017 to commemorate the Russian Revolution and redeem the actual record of revolutions in the Third World for the left. A quarter-century after the demise of the USSR, we found liberal capitalist triumphalism unwarranted. Two of the most important expectations to which it gave rise – that the world had become unipolar and that it would enjoy a peace dividend – remained unfulfilled. Instead, the world became multipolar and the West, led by the United States, engaged in unprecedented economic and military aggression against countries that contested its power. If this were not enough, social unrest and explosions in the First World as well as the Third underlined the relevance of revolutions. To trace their lineage, we recall capitalism’s intimate relation with revolution. It has needed revolutions to usher it into history and to usher it out. In addition to revolutions against developed capitalism, we also underline how important and necessary revolutions against nascent capitalism in various parts of the world have been. The contributions in this volume explore different parts of this lineage and vivify revolutions for our time.

Politics & Society, 1989

2020

If there is one revolution that speaks closely to the current situation of Nigeria, then we need not look farther beyond Africa. It is the Tunisian revolution of 2011. For years, Tunisians were buried neck-deep in the pool of unemployment, food inflation, corruption, poor living conditions, and an absence of political freedom. This perhaps was going to be the case forever, but for the humiliation of Muhammed Bouazizi who, in response to his oppression, set himself ablaze in the front of the Parliament on the 17 th December, 2010. This singular act of Bouazizi would later inspire five other self-immolations, lead to the removal of the 24-year serving Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, herald a thorough democratisation of Tunisia, and go down in the pages of history.

The Future of Revolutions: Rethinking Radical Change …, 2003

Third World Quarterly, 2020

We held the ‘Revolutions’ conference in 2017 to commemorate the Russian Revolution and redeem the actual record of revolutions in the Third World for the left. A quarter-century after the demise of the USSR, we found liberal capitalist triumphalism unwarranted. Two of the most important expectations to which it gave rise – that the world had become ‘unipolar’ and that it would enjoy a‘peace dividend’– remained unfulfilled. Instead, the world became multipolar and the West, led by the United States, engaged in unprecedented economic and military aggression against countries that contested its power. If this were not enough, social unrest and explosions in the First World as well as the Third underlined the relevance of revolutions. To trace their lineage, we recall capitalism’s intimate relation with revolution. It has needed revolutions to usher it into history and to usher it out. In addition to revolutions against developed capitalism, we also underline how important and necessary revolutions against nascent capitalism in various parts of the world have been. The contributions in this volume explore different parts of this lineage and vivify revolutions for our time.

International Journal of Political Science and Development, 2015

Although it took place over only 18 days, the 2011 Egyptian Revolution was a significant socio-political event in modern Middle East history. As a part of an upsurge of protest movements across the region, the Egyptian revolution followed Tunisia's successful revolution. These protests incited many questions and intersectional studies that have looked at economic, social, and political factors that came into existence leading to the "Arab Spring." Focusing on Egypt as a case study, this article examines the economic motives of the revolution that grew out of those factors. Specifically, it focuses on the concepts of poverty and economic inequality as major reasons of the protesters' unrest. A group of analysts has argued that dictatorship, religious and ethnic tensions, and the prevalence of gross corruption in government, were some of the main triggers of the Egyptian revolution. However, a close analysis of the 2011 revolution in Egypt shows that these factors are not sufficient catalysts for a revolution, unless they caused an unbearable poverty and economic inequality.