Tales of a Square: The Production and Transformation of Political Space in the Egyptian (Counter)Revolution

Wladimir Riphagen, null; Robbert A. F. L. Woltering, null

doi:10.13169/arabstudquar.40.2.0117

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Arab Studies Quarterly

Volume 40, Issue 2

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Tales of a Square: The Production and Transformation of Political Space in the Egyptian (Counter)Revolution

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Author(s): Wladimir Riphagen , Robbert A. F. L. Woltering

Publication date (Print): Spring 2018

Journal: Arab Studies Quarterly

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: Arab Spring, Egyptian Revolution, Lefebvre, space, Tahrir Square, contention, Wladimir Riphagen, Independent Scholar, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract

This article looks into the meaning of Tahrir Square before, during, and after the January 25 revolution. We employ Lefebvre's conceptual triad of space to understand how space is not merely a physical form, but also the product of relations between natural and social objects in this space. To understand how these relations changed dramatically after January 25, we will draw on Sewell's insight into how space is a constituent aspect of contentious politics. We discuss the way in which the political space of Tahrir Square went through distinct phases during and after the Egyptian revolution, from counter-space, to eventually a change in the conceived space of Tahrir Square, but not according to the principles of the newly created lived space during the 18 days.

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Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169

Journal ID (publisher-id): arabstudquar

Title: Arab Studies Quarterly

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 02713519

ISSN (Electronic): 20436920

Publication date (Print): Spring 2018

Volume: 40

Issue: 2

Pages: 117-133

Article

Publisher ID: arabstudquar.40.2.0117

DOI: 10.13169/arabstudquar.40.2.0117

SO-VID: c4867d9d-9804-4ba9-9049-142e62899869

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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References

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Abaza, M. (2013). Walls, Segregating Downtown Cairo and the Mohammed Mahmoud Graffiti. Theory Culture Society , 30(1), 122–139.
Abourahme, N. and Jayyusi, M. (2011). The Will to Revolt and the Spectre of the Real: Reflections on the Arab Moment. City , 15(6), 625–630.
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Bayat, A. (1997). Un-civil Society: The Politics of the “Informal People.” Third World Quarterly , 18(1), 53–72.
Berridge, W. J. (2011). Object Lessons in Violence: The Rationalities and Irrationalities of Urban Struggle during the Egyptian Revolution of 1919. Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History , 12(3).
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Sewell, W. H. (2001). Space in Contentious Politics. In Silence and Voice in the Study of Contentious Politics , ed. R. R. Aminzade, New York: Cambridge University Press.
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Youssef, N. (2011). Summer of Unrest: Tahrir—18 Days of Grace . London: Random House.

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[1] Abaza, M. (2011). Cairo's Downtown Imagined: Dubaisation or Nostalgia? Urban Studies , 48(6), 1075–1087.

[2] Abaza, M. (2013). Walls, Segregating Downtown Cairo and the Mohammed Mahmoud Graffiti. Theory Culture Society , 30(1), 122–139.

[3] Abourahme, N. and Jayyusi, M. (2011). The Will to Revolt and the Spectre of the Real: Reflections on the Arab Moment. City , 15(6), 625–630.

[4] Abu-Lughod, J. L. (1971). Cairo: 1001 Years of the City Victorious . Princeton: Princeton University Press.

[5] Bayat, A. (1997). Un-civil Society: The Politics of the “Informal People.” Third World Quarterly , 18(1), 53–72.

[6] Berridge, W. J. (2011). Object Lessons in Violence: The Rationalities and Irrationalities of Urban Struggle during the Egyptian Revolution of 1919. Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History , 12(3).

[7] Dhaliwal, P. (2012). Public Squares and Resistance: The Politics of Space in the Indignados Movement. Interface , 4(1), 251–273.

[8] El-Dahshan, M. (2017). Tahrir Square, Yesterday. Facebook.com. January 25. Web. Accessed February 13, 2017. <https://www.facebook.com/dahshan>.

[9] Elden, S. (2004). Understanding Henri Lefebvre . London: Continuum.

[10] Elshahed, M. (2011). Urbanizing the Counter-Revolution. Jadaliyya . December 17. Web. Accessed February 5, 2017. <http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/3581/urbanizing-the-counter-revolution>.

[11] Gunning, J. and Baron, I. Z. (2013). Why Occupy a Square? People, Protests and Movements in the Egyptian Revolution . London: C. Hurst & Co.

[12] Howeidy, A. (2015). The Battle for Tahrir. Al-Ahram Weekly , 1274. December 10–16. Web. Accessed February 5, 2017. <http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/15018/-/-.aspx>.

[13] Karasulu, A. (2014). ‘If a Leaf Falls, They Blame the Tree’: Scattered Notes on Gezi Resistances, Contention, and Space. International Review of Sociology , 24(1), 164–175.

[14] Lefebvre, H. (1991). The Production of Space . Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

[15] McAdam, D., Tarrow, S. and Tilly, C. (2001). Dynamics of Contention . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[16] McGreal, C. and Shenker, J. (2011). Mubarak Resigns – and Egypt Celebrates a New Dawn. The Guardian . February 11. Web. Accessed February 5, 2017. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/blog/2011/feb/11/egypt-hosni-mubarak-left-cairo>.

[17] Merrifield, A. (2006). Henri Lefebvre: A Critical Introduction . New York: Routledge.

[18] Mitchell, W. J. T. (2012). Image, Space, Revolution: The Arts of Occupation. Critical Inquiry , 39(1), 8–32.

[19] Prince, M. (2012). Ismi thawra . Cairo: Matabiʿ Amun.

[20] Raymond, A. (2000). Cairo . Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

[21] Ryzova, L. (2011). The Battle of Muhammad Mahmud Street: Teargas, Hair Gel, and Tramadol. Jadaliyya . November 28. Web. Accessed February 5, 2017. <http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/3312/the-battle-of-muhammad-mahmud-street_teargas-hair->.

[22] Salama, H. H. (2013). Tahrir Square: A Narrative of a Public Space. ArchNet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research , 7(1), 128–138.

[23] Sewell, W. H. (2001). Space in Contentious Politics. In Silence and Voice in the Study of Contentious Politics , ed. R. R. Aminzade, New York: Cambridge University Press.

[24] Sherif Arafa, Dir. (1992). Al-Irhab wal Kabab .

[25] Soueif, A. (2012). Cairo: My City, Our Revolution . London: Bloomsbury.

[26] Youssef, N. (2011). Summer of Unrest: Tahrir—18 Days of Grace . London: Random House.

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