issue 318

Student Protest and the Politics of Palestine in Egypt

In October 2023, two weeks after Israel launched a brutal assault on Gaza, the Egyptian government permitted the first sizable protests in support of Palestine. At Benha University, about 30 miles north of Cairo in the Nile Delta, students and university administrators joined together in what the university described in

Sean Lee, Mostafa Hefny • 13 min read

The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast Episode 13: Ned Leadbeater

Today on the podcast we have an interview with Ned Leadbeater, a researcher and analyst based in Britain who recently wrote an article for our Summer/Fall double issue on the material politics of normalization titled, “Fiber Optics and the Hidden Politics of Connectivity.” His article explores the politics surrounding

James Ryan, Ned Leadbeater • 1 min read

MER Article

Cairo's Incarcerated Geographies

In 2015, the Egyptian government announced a series of urban development plans, a schema that included having a city free of slums. As part of this plan, the state implemented a policy to relocate residents of so-called unsafe areas to new neighborhoods and redevelop existing neighborhoods using a combination of

Omnia Khalil • 5 min read

MER Article

Resisting Carceralism and Fighting for Freedom—A Roundtable

Four activists reflect on building a global anti-carceral movement.

Sahar Francis, Asim Qureshi, Kaouther Ferjani, Yara Sallam • 19 min read

MER Article

The Egyptian Public and the War on Gaza

The government's delicate balancing act around Palestine.

Hesham Sallam • 5 min read

Major Labels—Reviewing Andrew Simon's 'Media of the Masses'

Rethinking Egyptian history through sound.

Christopher Silver • 9 min read

Current Analysis

Major Labels

Rethinking Egyptian history through sound.

Christopher Silver • 9 min read

Current Analysis

The Ukraine War, Grain Trade and Bread in Egypt

One year on from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, what does the ongoing war mean for Egypt's bread subsidy?

Jessica Barnes • 11 min read

MER Article

The Maghreb’s Peripheral Centers in Permanent Crisis

Informal trade in the Maghreb's borderlands.

Max Gallien • 8 min read

MER Article

Nation-Making on the “Razor’s Edge” in the Egyptian-Libyan Borderland

In 1908, the British lord and arch-imperialist George Curzon published a short treatise on the unique role of frontiers in modern history. “Frontiers,” he wrote, “are indeed the razor’s edge on which hang suspended the modern issues of war or peace, of life or death of nations.”[1] Curzon

Matthew Ellis • 10 min read

MER Article

National Football Masculinities and the Game in Egypt

As football fans around the world tune in to the World Cup in Qatar, President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi’s regime is rather turning its back on the game, which used to constitute a centerpiece of Egyptian nation building. Based on research conducted for his book, Egypt’s Football Revolution: Emotion, ma

Carl Rommel • 13 min read

Current Analysis

The Lasting Significance of Egypt’s Rabaa Massacre

The Egyptian military's massacre of nearly 1,000 supporters of deposed president and Muslim Brotherhood leader Muhammad Mursi at Rabaa al-Adawiyya square in August 2013 continues to reverberate. Abdullah Al-Arian explains the massacre's long-term impact on the Muslim Brotherhood movement and Egyptia

Abdullah Al-Arian • 13 min read