Ardovini, Lucia and Mabon, Simon Paul (2020) Egypt's Unbreakable Curse:Tracing the State of Exception from Mubarak to Al Sisi. Mediterranean Politics, 25 (4). pp. 456-475. ISSN 1362-9395
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Abstract
This paper uses Giorgio Agamben’s State of Exception as a theoretical approach that allows us to see how emergency legislations operate in the region as mechanisms of control and dominant paradigms of governance. Relying on Egypt as a case study, this paper traces the significance of emergency rule throughout Mubarak’s era up until Al Sisi’s 2014 Constitution. It applies a four-stage analytical framework to investigate whether or not Egypt was indeed ruled by the exception throughout its turbulent recent history, while under the guise of Emergency Rule. In doing so, we aim to provide an analysis of the legal structures that shape Egyptian politics, while also adding to debates on the State of Exception, particularly on its application in the non-Western world.