In this talk, Eva Bellin will explore and question the differential experience of Egypt and Tunisia in the years since the overthrow of Mubarak and Ben Ali in 2011. Why has Tunisia succeeded in the process of democratic transition while Egypt has failed? The talk will explore the role of structural factors (socio-economic realities, institutional endowment, geographic location) as opposed to the role of human agency (leadership, choice, strategic initiative) in shaping the very different outcomes observed in the two countries’ politics over the last three years. Dr Bellin will highlight the role that choice played in setting the two countries on divergent paths and argue against any notion that the outcome observed was set in stone by structural factors.
Event Details
Speaker: Dr Eva Bellin, Brandeis University
Chair: Professor Toby Dodge, LSE
Date: Thursday 9 October 2014
Time: 13:00-14.30. Lunch will be provided starting 12.30.
Location: Room 9.04, Tower 2, Clement's Inn, LSE
Event hashtag: #LSEBellin
Attendance: This event is free and open to all on a first come first served basis. Our events are very well attended, please make sure to arrive early. We cannot guarantee entry.
Event hashtag: #LSEBellin
Speaker
Eva Bellin is the Myra and Robert Kraft Professor of Arab Politics at Brandeis University. She is the author of Stalled Democracy: Capital, Labor, and the Paradox of State Sponsored Development (Cornell) and has written extensively on such subjects as authoritarian persistence, political and economic reform, civil society, religion and politics, and the politics of cultural change.