Egypt
Romance and demons of 'Arab spring' and 'islamist winter'
The revolutionary euphoria of the Arab uprising gave way to a complex and arduous process of transitions and shifts in the balance of power - processes that in North Africa have included the rise to power of islamist parties
egypt, syrian arab republic, religion, arab spring, morocco, islamic revolution, turkey
Studying in Cairo: why young Egyptians vote islamist
In Egypt, islamists have emerged as a dominant political force thanks in part to young muslim voters. Religion is their way of distinguishing themselves from the west, observes one German student who studied in Cairo
egypt, university, arab spring, cairo, society, hosni mubarak
2011: God Bless Relativised Europe
'Happy' was our EU in 2011 – not ‘blissful’, in accordance with the Danish bible society's dumbed down translations of its revised new testament, released this year. The EU is still about ‘unity in diversity’, its guiding motto, but has also become about unity in losing faith
egypt, divorce, geert wilders, best of cafebabel.com, madrid, tony blair, catherine ashton
Peace in 2011: 'solutions to conflicts do exist’
From democratic aspirations to the transformation of the media game, Cathy Van Dorslaer, a Belgian psychologist specialising in the prevention of conflicts, explains why she believes 2011 stood under the sign of peace
egypt, josé luis rodríguez zapatero, democratisation, arab spring, psychology, techno-media, europe
Hope in 2011: Tahrir and Puerta del Sol utopias
This time it’s for real. Bad luck for Greece. Thomas has made up his mind: he’s leaving tonight. He climbs into the boat – and goodbye. Between Thomas More’s Utopia and Charles Fourier’s concept of the phalanstery, a literary look back at 2011
egypt, arab spring, best of cafebabel.com, madrid, jasmine revolution, 'indignant citizens' movement, egypt
Revolution rapper Mohamed El Deeb, Tahrir square's figurehead
Some musical genres, like rap and hip hop, developed so as to voice the rage of victims of injustice. Yet how many times has such ‘protest music’ really brought about a new revolution? The Egyptian rapper went out onto the streets to make real the change he evokes in his texts
My Zagreb Vitriol: remembering Croatia’s anti-government protests
As France, the UK and the Netherlands keep the country at arm’s length, the fact is that its almost six-year candidacy to the European union is almost complete in 2011. Anti-government protests against corruption and political incompetence marked the Croatian capital in February, and cafebabel.com sampled the ongoing street passions in March
egypt, zagreb, civil society, youth, croatia, orient express, unemployment
Seven (wonder) tips to visit post-revolution Egypt
A halt in tourism, which constitutes 11% of the country's GDP and allows over a half of Egypt's employed population to have service sector jobs, badly harmed the quality of life for many ordinary Egyptians. Scared of the turmoil following the 18-day revolution in late January, the usual number of 14 million tourists avoided Egypt for weeks - but that should change
egypt, money, arab spring, practical information, tourism, economy, shopping
Fare dodger, stowaway or free rider?
Does the Arab uprising mean more 'stowaways' for Europe? Why does a stowaway in French mean the same thing as a fare dodger? Why is fare dodging in Italy called 'pulling a Portuguese'? Expression of the week
egypt, arab spring, tower of babel, clandestine, european institutions, illegal immigrants, libyan arab jamahiriya
Egypt: President Mubarak's men in pro-democracy clashes
Several people were killed in Cairo on 2 February in the violent clashes between supporters and opponents of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. The Slovenian, Swedish and German press blames the regime for the escalation of violence and bemoans the low level of EU and US support for the opposition
egypt, democratisation, arab spring, european democracy, foreign policy, european film academy, cairo
Wael Nawara: 'Secular is a word we Egyptians used to use wrongly'
A nocturnal meeting with the second-in-command of the El Ghad ('The Tomorrow') party, Egypt’s main force of liberal opposition to Mubarak’s regime
egypt, middle east, brunch, dissident, interview, cairo, politics
Egypt's bloggers do it better
UNESCO World Press Freedom Day reminds the world of the need to protect the fundamental rights of the freedom of expression and press on 3 May
Will the Kifaya movement be enough to change Egypt?
Radical, youthful, colourful and symbolic: the new style of the Egyptian opposition echoes that of the Ukrainian ‘Orange Revolution’. However, its success seems less certain
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