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In a Moment of Enthusiasm: Political Power and the Second Stratum in Egypt
464 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 1978
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November 12, 2015
The bulk of Leonard Binder’s work In a Moment of Enthusiasm is dedicated to a rigorous statistical analysis of what he refers to as Egypt’s “second stratum”. Defining the second stratum as an influential class that permits the rulers to rule, without being elite themselves, the author suggests that in Egypt this role was fulfilled by the rural middle class and notables. The book is divided into three parts: the first three quarters attempt to define and quantify the significant characteristics of this group, while only the final section engages them in a more qualitative fashion. As such, much of this text is concerned with outlining his methodology, providing the proper caveats for his data, and transforming his findings into prose, while the conclusions themselves are reserved for the final paragraph or two of each chapter.
Binder’s first section attempts to define the structure of the rural notables. He begins, however, with a contextualizing chapter that outlines the involvement of indigenous Egyptians in the framework of political power and postulates that the Free Officers had to find a way to mobilize popular support because it did not come automatically. Despite their rhetoric to increase political participation, however, the Free Officers were seeking only to block the power of old elites, not engender the involvement of new ones. As such the Nation Union, which was an organization designed ostensibly to empower mass participation in politics, did not actually represent all classes or the majority of marginalized groups. Instead, as he demonstrates in his first statistical analysis, most of the members were from the upper class.
As this part continues, the author demonstrates that rural notables were defined by their disproportionate political activity, but that they engaged in both modern and traditional pursuits and were not a homogenous group. Large landowners had the advantage in politics, which was related to the fact that there was significant continuity between those in influential positions under Abdul Nasser and those that made up the second stratum in the mid- 1800s. The Wafd Party of the interwar period, meanwhile, attempted to be a lot of things but was, in general, “a bourgeois national movement […] influenced by the liberal ideology of its British rulers and exploiting the social resources which were available despite the deepening cultural gulf between leaders and mass”. Its lack of a strong political base led to the re-emergence of the rural middle class, which, having been in decline since the 1870s, saw a resurgence as both the palace and the Wafd sought new political allies. A generation or two later, their descendants would play an important part in supporting the National Union. Finally, Binder highlights the importance of transitional elements within the rural notability, as purely traditional families declined in influence while those who were able to engage modern occupations grew more powerful, even as the modern urbanized elite stagnated.
The author’s second section is titled “Geographical Distribution of the Second Stratum” and argues that the rural notability could act in this capacity because it could serve government interests by connecting them to the countryside while also possessing a legitimate claim to represent the agrarian masses. The chapters here demonstrate that “the second stratum is more prevalent in the more developed provinces, [and] that it includes more individuals with high status occupations but also more of those engaged in agriculture than expected”, as well as the idea that their prevalence in general differs from province to province. Regions of traditional political influence have the most concentrated presence of the second stratum, which means that it centers on areas of developed agricultural wealth, but this prevalence did not necessarily equate to political power.
Binder concludes his work with three chapters that chronicle the development of the Arab Socialist Union and its relationship to the rural middle class. During his reign, urban bourgeois support for Abdul Nasser was not as strong as the more traditional rural sectors, which were enthusiastic about a socialist program, and thus the National Union was intended to help Abdul Nasser block liberal bourgeois political power without empowering radical groups. Syria’s withdrawal from the United Arab Republic, however, highlighted the National Union’s inability to perform its function, and led to its reorganization as the Arab Socialist Union. Yet this did not widen the organization’s base and the rural middle class remained influential.
The Ba’ath regime in Syria, meanwhile, criticized Abdul Nasser for being ideologically inconsistent, which engendered his desire to move towards a more socialist/leftist agenda. This spurred Egypt’s involvement in the Yemen conflict, which in turn distanced him from the United States and strengthened his relations with the Soviet Union. This led to the release of Egyptian communist political prisoners, who entered the ASU and attempted, at times with Abdul Nasser’s blessings, to transform it into a genuinely socialist movement. As the author argues, however, that “[t]he communists failed because they were prevented from organizing the vanguard within the armed forces, because they could not control appointments to the executive bureaus of the political apparatus, and because the vanguard had no executive power”. Overall, these changes neither revolutionized state-agrarian relations nor supported the traditional power of the second stratum, but more or less left things the way they were.
Binder’s final chapter sums up his findings as indicating continuity in the power of the rural middle class through Abdul Nasser’s regime. Upon the ascension of Anwar Sadat, his leftist opposition was unable to mobilize the ASU to support a socialist agenda, indicating their failure to transform that organization. Writing in the late 1970s, the author sees Sadat as moving further and further towards the right, while not fundamentally altering his relationship with the rural middle class, and concludes by suggesting possible future directions for the regime. Overall, In a Moment of Enthusiasm is a very methodologically-driven, technical work that has the potential to disorient those unfamiliar with its approach. There is a lot of empirical analysis and base-covering to ensure the accuracy of what little is being said and much of the text consists of the data being converted into prose. Having said that, there is much of value here for historians and political scientists alike and it is a worthwhile read for those willing to focus on the destination rather than the journey.
Binder’s first section attempts to define the structure of the rural notables. He begins, however, with a contextualizing chapter that outlines the involvement of indigenous Egyptians in the framework of political power and postulates that the Free Officers had to find a way to mobilize popular support because it did not come automatically. Despite their rhetoric to increase political participation, however, the Free Officers were seeking only to block the power of old elites, not engender the involvement of new ones. As such the Nation Union, which was an organization designed ostensibly to empower mass participation in politics, did not actually represent all classes or the majority of marginalized groups. Instead, as he demonstrates in his first statistical analysis, most of the members were from the upper class.
As this part continues, the author demonstrates that rural notables were defined by their disproportionate political activity, but that they engaged in both modern and traditional pursuits and were not a homogenous group. Large landowners had the advantage in politics, which was related to the fact that there was significant continuity between those in influential positions under Abdul Nasser and those that made up the second stratum in the mid- 1800s. The Wafd Party of the interwar period, meanwhile, attempted to be a lot of things but was, in general, “a bourgeois national movement […] influenced by the liberal ideology of its British rulers and exploiting the social resources which were available despite the deepening cultural gulf between leaders and mass”. Its lack of a strong political base led to the re-emergence of the rural middle class, which, having been in decline since the 1870s, saw a resurgence as both the palace and the Wafd sought new political allies. A generation or two later, their descendants would play an important part in supporting the National Union. Finally, Binder highlights the importance of transitional elements within the rural notability, as purely traditional families declined in influence while those who were able to engage modern occupations grew more powerful, even as the modern urbanized elite stagnated.
The author’s second section is titled “Geographical Distribution of the Second Stratum” and argues that the rural notability could act in this capacity because it could serve government interests by connecting them to the countryside while also possessing a legitimate claim to represent the agrarian masses. The chapters here demonstrate that “the second stratum is more prevalent in the more developed provinces, [and] that it includes more individuals with high status occupations but also more of those engaged in agriculture than expected”, as well as the idea that their prevalence in general differs from province to province. Regions of traditional political influence have the most concentrated presence of the second stratum, which means that it centers on areas of developed agricultural wealth, but this prevalence did not necessarily equate to political power.
Binder concludes his work with three chapters that chronicle the development of the Arab Socialist Union and its relationship to the rural middle class. During his reign, urban bourgeois support for Abdul Nasser was not as strong as the more traditional rural sectors, which were enthusiastic about a socialist program, and thus the National Union was intended to help Abdul Nasser block liberal bourgeois political power without empowering radical groups. Syria’s withdrawal from the United Arab Republic, however, highlighted the National Union’s inability to perform its function, and led to its reorganization as the Arab Socialist Union. Yet this did not widen the organization’s base and the rural middle class remained influential.
The Ba’ath regime in Syria, meanwhile, criticized Abdul Nasser for being ideologically inconsistent, which engendered his desire to move towards a more socialist/leftist agenda. This spurred Egypt’s involvement in the Yemen conflict, which in turn distanced him from the United States and strengthened his relations with the Soviet Union. This led to the release of Egyptian communist political prisoners, who entered the ASU and attempted, at times with Abdul Nasser’s blessings, to transform it into a genuinely socialist movement. As the author argues, however, that “[t]he communists failed because they were prevented from organizing the vanguard within the armed forces, because they could not control appointments to the executive bureaus of the political apparatus, and because the vanguard had no executive power”. Overall, these changes neither revolutionized state-agrarian relations nor supported the traditional power of the second stratum, but more or less left things the way they were.
Binder’s final chapter sums up his findings as indicating continuity in the power of the rural middle class through Abdul Nasser’s regime. Upon the ascension of Anwar Sadat, his leftist opposition was unable to mobilize the ASU to support a socialist agenda, indicating their failure to transform that organization. Writing in the late 1970s, the author sees Sadat as moving further and further towards the right, while not fundamentally altering his relationship with the rural middle class, and concludes by suggesting possible future directions for the regime. Overall, In a Moment of Enthusiasm is a very methodologically-driven, technical work that has the potential to disorient those unfamiliar with its approach. There is a lot of empirical analysis and base-covering to ensure the accuracy of what little is being said and much of the text consists of the data being converted into prose. Having said that, there is much of value here for historians and political scientists alike and it is a worthwhile read for those willing to focus on the destination rather than the journey.
Displaying 1 of 1 review