Civic action means demanding civic rights: rule of law above all, respect of plurality, people's sovereignty and a few basic rules. It means the end of ideological politics, the disappearance of nationalism, paternalism, patriotism, antisionism etc. They are absent in Tahrir, they do not legitimise power any more.
Civic politics has a number of elemets. New generation, non-ideological politics, free media.
Egypts civic uprising started as a protest of young people - a new generation of people with non-ideologoc, civic rights demands. Counterpunch describes in most detail its beginnings and strategy:
"The youth leaders maintain that all institutions of state power, except the army, which on the surface declared its neutrality, have lost their legitimacy in lieu of the will of the people to support the revolution. They insisted that the people have already spoken and called for Mubarak’s ouster, the dissolution of parliament, the replacement of the government, and the formation of constitutional experts to re-write a new constitution. Therefore, all efforts by the regime to re-constitute itself through promised reforms to maintain its grip on power are illegitimate and rejected. This is a popular revolution not a protest, they maintained."
For the Moroccan prince and political scientist, Moulay Hisham, giving a widely circulated interview in French, the thesis of an Arabic exceptionalism is refuted. The protest are non-ideological and anti-authoritarian in nature, free of the old antiimperialist, antiisionist dichotomies.
The newspapers are joining in the civic movement. Al-Arabiya reports:
"Before changing its rhetoric, al-Ahram reported January 25 as a day of “disorderly chaos” with only few dozens of protesters flocking Tahrir square despite international media reports describing hundreds of thousands of protesters.
Civic politics has a number of elemets. New generation, non-ideological politics, free media.
Egypts civic uprising started as a protest of young people - a new generation of people with non-ideologoc, civic rights demands. Counterpunch describes in most detail its beginnings and strategy:
"The youth leaders maintain that all institutions of state power, except the army, which on the surface declared its neutrality, have lost their legitimacy in lieu of the will of the people to support the revolution. They insisted that the people have already spoken and called for Mubarak’s ouster, the dissolution of parliament, the replacement of the government, and the formation of constitutional experts to re-write a new constitution. Therefore, all efforts by the regime to re-constitute itself through promised reforms to maintain its grip on power are illegitimate and rejected. This is a popular revolution not a protest, they maintained."
For the Moroccan prince and political scientist, Moulay Hisham, giving a widely circulated interview in French, the thesis of an Arabic exceptionalism is refuted. The protest are non-ideological and anti-authoritarian in nature, free of the old antiimperialist, antiisionist dichotomies.
"Ceux-ci proposent une nouvelle version de la société civile où le refus de l'autoritarisme va de pair avec le rejet de la corruption. Ces mouvements sont nationalistes et non-autoritaires à la fois, ils sont pan-arabistes selon un nouveau modèle, en rupture avec la version anti-démocratique qui a sévi par le passé."
The newspapers are joining in the civic movement. Al-Arabiya reports:
"Before changing its rhetoric, al-Ahram reported January 25 as a day of “disorderly chaos” with only few dozens of protesters flocking Tahrir square despite international media reports describing hundreds of thousands of protesters.
The paper did not only describe how the “protesters demand the downfall of the regime and ousting Mubarak,” but its new found freedom of speech and expression continued by saying that the “rigorous movements led by leaders drawn from all of the youth movements, al-Jabha party, National Council for Change, and the committee of ten emanating from the national council and the People’s Assembly to form a general leadership for 25 revolution for all of Egypt,” proved a remarkable change from its previous support to the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) of Mubarak’s."
Gilbert Achcar explains that liberal politics is the best way to handle ideological, including religious forces. The authoritarian regime has helped opposing ideology to prominence:
Gilbert Achcar explains that liberal politics is the best way to handle ideological, including religious forces. The authoritarian regime has helped opposing ideology to prominence:
"I would say that it is the lack of democracy that led religious fundamentalist forces to occupy such a space. Repression and the lack of political freedoms reduced considerably the possibility for left-wing, working-class and feminist movements to develop in an environment of worsening social injustice and economic degradation. In such conditions, the easiest venue for the expression of mass protest turns out to be the one that uses the most readily and openly available channels. That's how the opposition got dominated by forces adhering to religious ideologies and programmes."
"We aspire to a society where such forces are free to defend their views, but in an open and democratic ideological competition between all political currents. In order for Middle Eastern societies to get back on the track of political secularisation, back to the popular critical distrust of the political exploitation of religion that prevailed in the 1950s and 1960s, they need to acquire the kind of political education that can be achieved only through a long-term practise of democracy."
"We aspire to a society where such forces are free to defend their views, but in an open and democratic ideological competition between all political currents. In order for Middle Eastern societies to get back on the track of political secularisation, back to the popular critical distrust of the political exploitation of religion that prevailed in the 1950s and 1960s, they need to acquire the kind of political education that can be achieved only through a long-term practise of democracy."
No comments:
Post a Comment