Second annotation: Revised version

 MY TWO SUBJECTS OF STUDY: SOCIETY AND GOVERNMENT

Jessica Villaseñor 

100409908 

In the first annotation I explained some characteristics of women in Egypt as a clear example of what this problematic is about. For this annotation I will go deeper in my two principal subjects of study: Egyptian society and Egyptian government. Thus, we can understand what the inconsistencies I argue for are about. 

Article:Egypt: Crisis of identity

This first article analyzes the society and shows some of the current problems it faces. The article is from the BBC, and the author, Roger Hardy, points out the contradictions in the Egyptian society. He reviews the recent history in the country in order to understand the feelings of the society and its "crisis of identity" as the called it. 

In contrast to Nabila Ramdani, the author of the article I presented in the first annotation, this author shows more understanding of the cultural particularities when writing about the topic. First, he mentions that the signals of modernity are undoubtedly present in Egypt, such as telecommunications. He supports this idea after explaining the fragmentation of society into different groups and all of them with different solutions for this problem. Some of them had been trying to approach to the West, others had done a reinterpretation of the Koran (the holy book of Islam) but “in the light of modern conditions” (Hardy, 2002), but others had concluded that Islam has to maintain as pure as possible and fight the battles. Therefore, with this previous explanation is it clear why the author’s article is named “crisis of identity”.

As I explain in the first issue paper, the government kept a pro-west policy for many years meanwhile the society was wearing out. The actual crisis the author talks about is the result of these inaccurate policies. This article supports my argument about the incongruence of the real Egyptian identity and the government they had before the Revolution in 2011. He  gives us as well a context of the struggle they live in the pursuit of their identity trough a no bias explanation. 

Article: What caused the Revolution in Egypt?

For this second article I want to explain the government situationThis article from The Guardian written by Duncan Green seeks for the reasons of disconformities of Egyptian people that may have led to the Revolution in last year. He mentions many but for the purpose of my research I will focus only in the foreign policy.

As Green (2011) says “the foreign policy had …divorced from public opinion for many years” , he let us comprehend the disagreement between the voice of society, the free media and the government in recent years that led to “the erosion of legitimacy”. As example we can mention that even though Egypt’s population is mostly Arabic, it got far from the rest of Arabic countries, and didn’t support them in  the international scenario.  

Since a Revolution, like the one occurred last year is a large-scale event, I cannot say that foreign policy and the delegitimization of the State are the main causes for it. But for, sure, as the author says is one of the causes. This article supports my idea that the government in recent years didn’t represent the identity and customs of society until the point that it broke down into groups that are seeking for solutions. Turning back to the veil would be one of the signs of one of these groups’ solutions.

Concept: Legitimacy 

Lipset’s definition of Legitimacy involves the belief that the exiting political institutions are the most appropriate one for the society” and Easton’s definition is “the conviction on the part of the member that it is right and proper…to accept and obey the authorities” (cited in Stillman, 1974) help us to better understand the political language used in the articles above.

References

-Green, D. (17 de february de 2011). What caused the Revolution in Egypt? The Guardian.Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/feb/17/what-caused-egyptian-revolution

-Hardy, R. (16 de july de 2002). Obtenido de BBC News.

-Stillman, P. (1974). The concept of Legitimacy. Polity, 32-56.Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3234268?seq=1