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rababelmahdi

Rabab El Mahdi

Brief Biography

Rabab El Mahdi is associate professor of political science at The American University in Cairo. She leads the AUC research project  Alternative Policy Solutions and hosts Egypt's leading public affairs podcast, El-Hal Eih? (What's the Solution?). She is the author of several books and academic articles on state-civil society relations, social movements and contentious politics, as well as the political economy of social policy. Her analysis has also appeared in several Arabic and English media outlets, including The Guardian, El-Shourouk, CNN and The New York Times. Before joining AUC, she worked for several development organizations, including non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies. Previously, she taught at Yale University and received renowned fellowships at Columbia University, the University of Chicago and the Rockefeller Bellagio Center. She serves on the boards of several civil society and professional organizations, including the Arab Political Science Network and the Special Commission for Research Ethics in the Middle East and North Africa. She earned her PhD from McGill University in Montreal in 2005.

Research Interest
  • Comparative political economy of Latin American and the Middle East (state-civil society relations)
  • Social movements and resistance
  • Women's movements
  • Democratic transitions

Book

Political Manipulation? Civil Society and the State in Egypt and Bolivia. Brill Publications, 2012

Edited Volumes

  • Arab Spring in Egypt: Revolution and Beyond. The American University in Cairo Press, 2012
  • Egypt: The Moment of Change. Zed Press, 2009

Book Chapters

  • “Egypt: A Decade of Ruptures” in Taking to the Streets, Eds. Ellen Lust and Lina El-Khatib.  Washington: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014
  • “ Against Marginalization: Youth, Class, and Revolution” in Marginality and Exclusion in Egypt and the Middle East, Eds. Ray Bush and Habib Ayeb. London: Zed Press, 2012

Selected Articles

  • "The Failure of the Regime or the Demise of the State?". International Journal of Middle East Studies 50 (2), 2018
  • “Beyond the ‘Woman Question’ in the Egyptian Revolution” with Lila Abu- Lughoud. Feminist Studies 37 (3), 2011
  • “Labor Protests in Egypt: Causes and Meanings” Review of African Political Economy, 38(129), 2011
  • “Does Politicial Islam Impede Gender-Based Mobilization?” Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, 11(3-4), 2010
  • “Anti-Globalization Movement” in Encyclopedia of Political Science.  2010
  • “Enough! Egypt’s Quest for Democracy” Comparative Political Studies, 42(3), 2009
  • Doctorate of Philosophy in comparative politics of developing countries, 2005, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
  • Master of Arts in political science, 1998, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
  • Bachelor of Arts in political science, 1996, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
  • Introduction to Development
  • Seminar: Special Topics in Political Science
  • Regime Change and Democratization

Interviewed by and featured in the New York Times, BBC, NPR, British Channel 4, CNN, and Le Monde among others. Wrote op-eds for El-Shourok Newspaper (Egypt), Al-Saffir Al-Arabii (Lebanon), and the Guardian.