Lumbering State, Restless Society: Egypt in the Modern Era, Columbia University Press, October 2021

By: Amr Adly

In this major contribution to understanding the Egyptian state our own Assistant Professor Amr Adly, in collaboration with Professor Nathan Brown (George Washington University) and Assistant Professor Shimaa Hatab (Cairo University), traces the emergence of a powerful and intrusive state alongside a society that is increasingly politicized. They emphasize how the rulers who have steered the state apparatus have also had to retreat and recalibrate. The authors examine why authoritarianism, corporatism, and socialism have decayed without resulting in a liberal democratic order, and they show why Egyptian politics should not be understood in terms of a single dominant force but rather an interplay among many actors. At once current, insightful, and engaging, Lumbering State, Restless Society delivers a powerful and distinctive account of Egypt in the modern world.

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