A Revolution Undone: Egypt's Road Beyond Revolt

by H.A. Hellyer

Amid the turbulence of the 2011 Arab uprisings, the revolutionary uprising that played out in Cairo's Tahrir Square created high expectations before dashing the hopes of its participants. The upheaval led to a sequence of events in Egypt that scarcely anyone could have predicted, and precious few have five years on, the status of Egypt's unfinished revolution remains shrouded in confusion. Power shifted hands rapidly, first from protesters to the army leadership, then to the politicians of the Muslim Brotherhood, and then back to the army. The politics of the street has given way to the politics of Islamist-military détentes and the undoing of the democratic experiment. Meanwhile, a burgeoning Islamist insurgency occupies the army in Sinai and compounds the nation's sense of uncertainty.A Revolution Undone blends analysis and narrative, charting Egypt's journey from Tahrir to Sisi from the perspective of an author and analyst who lived it all. H.A. Hellyer brings his first-hand experience to bear in his assessment of Egypt's experiment with protest and democracy. And by scrutinizing Egyptian society and public opinion, Islamism and Islam, the military and government, as well as the West's reaction to events, Hellyer provides a much-needed appraisal of Egypt's future prospects.

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

320 pages, Hardcover

Published October 27, 2016

Reviews

[Murtaza · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the Egyptian revolution broke out in 2011, it quickly generated scenes of popular mobilization, solidarity and protest that captivated the imagination of the world. For eighteen days until Mubarak fell global attention was focused on the hundreds of thousands, Muslims and Christians, who had gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square roundabout. When Mubarak finally resigned, it seemed to herald the possibility of a new dispensation not just in Egypt but throughout the Middle East, stagnating as it was under military dictatorships.

Things didn't work out that way in the long-term, or at least not yet. This book documents the Egyptian counterrevolution, and comes from one of the most trustworthy and evenhanded analysts on the country. Hellyer lived the Egyptian revolution, undoubtedly a genuine popular uprising as he shows, and also charts how the mistakes made by all camps: the revolutionaries, the Muslim Brotherhood and the old regime, put Egypt's brief democratic experiment in the deep-freeze. He doesn't spare anyone and he refreshingly avoids the normal cliches (such as the utterly false "Islam vs. Secularists" framing of the 2013 coup) which characterize analysis of post-revolutionary Egypt. The MB had ample opportunity to avoid its fate by governing as a consensus-based party, helping nurture the nascent Egyptian democratic consensus. Instead they tried to go it alone, something that proved to be fatal in a country as-yet lacking in a strong civil society that could protect against undemocratic interventions such as coups.

Hellyer's book is mostly academic but offers a number of touching personal reminisces of the uprising. For those of us for whom the Egyptian revolution provided an inspiration, its a refreshing reminder that what happened and what seemed possible during that time was real. He is also, unlike many other observers, still an optimist about Egypt and its democratic prospects in the long-term. This comes above all from faith in its people and what they have shown they can accomplish. I've always trusted his analysis, non-partisan as its always been. This admirably fair-minded book does much to buttress that trust further.

[Gautam Bhatia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bleak - but necessary - account of the Egyptian Revolution and its suffocation, from 2011 - 2015. Hellyer is both an analyst, and an active participant in what happened in Tahrir Square, and A Revolution Undone is a fine work of engaged history.

The book takes us through the minutae of those four years, and shows us how the ultimate tragedy was never inevitable - at each stage, there were options before the four principal actors - the old regime, the military, the revolutionaries, and the Muslim Brotherhood - that might have enabled Egypt's democratic experiment to survive; but at each stage, those roads were not taken. Hellyer's critique of the principal actors is unsparing, but never unfair; and he takes into account the relative power that they held, and the scope of political action that was open to them, at any given time. Ultimately, Hellyer discharges the burden that he lays upon himself at the beginning of the book - that the task of the writer is to criticise the powerful, and not the powerless.

I would've liked to see a little more of linking the 2011 Revolution with previous movements - especially those in the 1970s - to provide a more complete historical lineage, but I guess there perhaps wasn't the space to cover that. For that, I'd read this book alongside Arwa Salih's memoir, The Stillborn, and Ibrahim Meguid's novel, Clouds Over Alexandria.

[Muhammed · Rating 5 out of 5]

In keeping with H.A. Hellyer's non-partisan insightful and incisive writings on Egypt over the last 6 years, A Revolution Undone acts as a document of this time. The key is in the title. Hellyer shows how the main players - the military and Muslim Brotherhood - undid what was started on January 25th 2011. The revolutionaries are critiqued for failing to provide (or at least unite behind) a viable political leader. Peppered with personal anecdotes, this is an essential and often depressing read on a country that could have followed a much different path after the uprising that brought down Mubarak and entranced the world. In the words of Hellyer, "The revolution has, indeed, passed on. But rather than lament that, as so many are wont to do, it befits all of us who fought for it and believed in it to remember that we are privileged to have been there. And for those of us who participated, even in some insignificant way, the 25 January revolution continues to provide lessons and principles that remain pertinent."

[The Contented · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading on the Egyptian revolution and its aftermath - what went wrong.

Much recommended

[Anna Chrisp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. If you want to understand Egypt today, read this book. Hellyer clearly and succinctly describes the key players and political forces of the five years after 2011, adding intelligent analysis of the major turning points and how and why the country evolved the way it did.

[David Mccracken · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good walk through 25 Jan 2011 and its aftermath, effectively to the present day. He is honest both about the unexpected hope that came from the initial resistance to Mubarak (and its surprising success) and about the persistent popularity and trust of the military throughout. The ending is necessarily tragic, though he struggles as best he can to give a few threads of continued hope, if not for now, at least for some undefined future.