Revolution without Revolutionaries
"People may or may not have ideas about revolution for it to happen. For the outbreak of a revolution has little to do with any idea, and even less with a 'theory,' of revolution. Revolutions 'simply' happen. But having or not having ideas about revolution does have critical consequences for the outcome when it actually occurs.
Having lived in both Iran and Egypt just prior to their revolutions, I was struck by how different these experiences were. I was enthralled by the Arab Spring's more peaceful, open, pluralistic, and less repressive texture but was perplexed by its nonradical, loosely organised, exposed, and perilous quality."
—Asef Bayat, Revolution without Revolutionaries: Making Sense of the Arab Spring, 2017, Preface, xi (in paperback ed.)
"The speed, spread, and intensity of the recent revolutions extraordinarily unparalleled, while their lack of ideology, lax coordination, and absence of any galvanzing leadership and intellectual precepts have almost no precedent. But even more striking is that they lacked the kind of radicalism that marked the earlier revolutions and that the ideas of deep democracy, equity, fair property relations, and social justice paled or were more rhetorical than driven by genuine concern anchored on startegic visions or concrete programs. Indeed, it remains a question if what emerged during the Arab Spring were in fact revolutions in sense of their twentieth-century counterparts." Ibid., p. 2
"Nonradical, loosely organised, exposed, and perilous quality." Will the Algerians carry out a radical revolution or get coopted? One should keep a close eye on the manoeuvres of the ruling class in Algeria and the role of the major Atlantic states, their regional allies/subordinates, their internationally-dominated institutions and their corporate, and even the so-called liberal, media.
A very recent example is how el-Sisi has urged for 'stability' in Algeria while Macron is trying to teach him that both 'stability and 'human rights' go together. Like other "democractic" imperialists who use the cloak of "human rights" while shaking hands and making business deals with a military dictatorship. 'Stability' for them means that capital accumulation goes on unhindered, but when the client becomes a liability they either put pressure on him to make concessions or look for a substitute that they, and their media, endorse as a new leader whom they define as "moderate" and who would respect "then will of the people" and "establish the rule of law". Thus guarantteing that the international financial instituions too pour loans in the regime's coffers.
Certainly, minor changes/concessions would be beneficial for both the regional bourgeoisie and its international backers. More importantly, el-Sisi is more worried of a genuine change/revolution in Algeria and how that might threaten his regime. After all, in both countries the army is a decisive factor, and any split within the military might usher in a downfall of the regime or restructuring of the repressive state apparatus to save the very same regime.
"People may or may not have ideas about revolution for it to happen. For the outbreak of a revolution has little to do with any idea, and even less with a 'theory,' of revolution. Revolutions 'simply' happen. But having or not having ideas about revolution does have critical consequences for the outcome when it actually occurs.
Having lived in both Iran and Egypt just prior to their revolutions, I was struck by how different these experiences were. I was enthralled by the Arab Spring's more peaceful, open, pluralistic, and less repressive texture but was perplexed by its nonradical, loosely organised, exposed, and perilous quality."
—Asef Bayat, Revolution without Revolutionaries: Making Sense of the Arab Spring, 2017, Preface, xi (in paperback ed.)
"The speed, spread, and intensity of the recent revolutions extraordinarily unparalleled, while their lack of ideology, lax coordination, and absence of any galvanzing leadership and intellectual precepts have almost no precedent. But even more striking is that they lacked the kind of radicalism that marked the earlier revolutions and that the ideas of deep democracy, equity, fair property relations, and social justice paled or were more rhetorical than driven by genuine concern anchored on startegic visions or concrete programs. Indeed, it remains a question if what emerged during the Arab Spring were in fact revolutions in sense of their twentieth-century counterparts." Ibid., p. 2
"Nonradical, loosely organised, exposed, and perilous quality." Will the Algerians carry out a radical revolution or get coopted? One should keep a close eye on the manoeuvres of the ruling class in Algeria and the role of the major Atlantic states, their regional allies/subordinates, their internationally-dominated institutions and their corporate, and even the so-called liberal, media.
A very recent example is how el-Sisi has urged for 'stability' in Algeria while Macron is trying to teach him that both 'stability and 'human rights' go together. Like other "democractic" imperialists who use the cloak of "human rights" while shaking hands and making business deals with a military dictatorship. 'Stability' for them means that capital accumulation goes on unhindered, but when the client becomes a liability they either put pressure on him to make concessions or look for a substitute that they, and their media, endorse as a new leader whom they define as "moderate" and who would respect "then will of the people" and "establish the rule of law". Thus guarantteing that the international financial instituions too pour loans in the regime's coffers.
Certainly, minor changes/concessions would be beneficial for both the regional bourgeoisie and its international backers. More importantly, el-Sisi is more worried of a genuine change/revolution in Algeria and how that might threaten his regime. After all, in both countries the army is a decisive factor, and any split within the military might usher in a downfall of the regime or restructuring of the repressive state apparatus to save the very same regime.
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