SEMINAR: Legalizing Authoritarianism in Egypt

CMSS Seminar Series: Religion, State and Society

Legalizing Authoritarianism in Egypt

By Dr Amr Hamzawy, American University in Cairo and Cairo University

DATE: Thursday, 16 March 2017 TIME: 4.00pm – 6pm WHERE: Fox Lecture Theatre, Arts Building, The University of Western Australia ENTRY: Free REGISTRATION: Register via Eventbrite or email.

Abstract:

This talk examines the ways through which successive Egyptian governments have utilized lawmaking to eliminate opponents and silence voices of dissent since the coup of 3 July 2013. Key examples include the adoption of a draconian protest law and anti-terrorism laws. Most recently, the legislature passed a bill that, subject to the president’s approval, is poised to significantly curtail the autonomy of civil society organizations. By restricting freedom of expression and association and clamping down on voices of dissent, these legal initiatives have helped upgrade the repressive bureaucratic tools at the disposal of the government.

About the speaker:

Amr Hamzawy studied political science and developmental studies in Cairo, The Hague, and Berlin. After finishing his doctoral studies and after five years of teaching in Cairo and Berlin, Hamzawy joined the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Washington, DC) between 2005 and 2009 as a senior associate for Middle East Politics. Between 2009 and 2010, he served as the research director of the Middle East Centre of the Carnegie Endowment in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2011, he joined the Department of Public Policy and Administration at the American University in Cairo, where he continues to serve today. Hamzawy also serves as an associate professor of political science at the Department of Political Science, Cairo University. His research and teaching interests as well as his academic publications focus on democratization processes in Egypt, tensions between freedom and repression in the Egyptian public space, political movements and civil society in Egypt, contemporary debates in Arab political thought, and human rights and governance in the Arab world. Dr. Hamzawy is a former member of the People’s Assembly after being elected in the first Parliamentary elections in Egypt after the 25th of Jan 2011 revolution. He is also a former member of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights. Hamzawy contributes a daily column and a weekly op-ed to the Egyptian independent newspaper Shorouk. His publications include: A Margin for Democracy in Egypt – The Story of a Failed Transition (in Arabic) Cairo: The Egyptian Lebanese Publishers (2014), On Religion, Politics, an Democratic Legitimacy in Egypt Carnegie Middle East Centre, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (in English and Arabic) (2013) and Remarks on Political Writing and its Role in Defending Democracy, Freedoms, and Human Rights (in Arabic) Ahram: Journal of Democracy (2013).