Timothy Mitchell
Timothy Mitchell teaches at Columbia University. His books include Colonising Egypt, Rule of Experts, and Carbon Democracy.Blog
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What to Read on Egypt and the Arab Spring
If 2011 saw a monumental change in the governments of the Middle East, 2012 has demonstrated that revolution takes some time, that conflict is sustained and that some of the same challenges are not consigned to history.
Protests continue in Egypt’s capital Cairo, as over one hundred thousand demonstrators have recently taken to the streets and gathered once again in Tahrir Square in opposition to dictatorial decrees by President Mohammed Morsi. With only one hundred days in power, Morsi’s fledgling tenure as president has resulted in examples of sweeping authority, transferring all executive and legislative powers from the military council to his offices.
Such actions are reminiscent of the power exercised by former President Hosni Mubarak. The on-going distrust of Morsi’s presidency returns the chant of the 2011 revolution: "The people want to bring down the regime".
These are Verso’s key titles on the challenges facing Egypt and the Middle East, where uprising continues from the hopefulness of the Arab Spring to the challenges ahead.
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Tim Mitchell in Electric Politics
Play Recording
This week on Electric Politics, Tim Mitchell asks what happens when we run out of cheap carbon fuel. In an exhaustive and in-depth podcast, the author of Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil, looks at the history of fuel and how energy sources have shaped political power through history:
Coal, because strikes could cut off its supply, made modern social democracy possible. Oil, because its supply has been pretty much guaranteed, compromised democratic gains.
Visit Electric Politics to download the podcast in full.
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Political power in the age of oil: Timothy Mitchell interviewed on WABC New York
Last Saturday, Timothy Mitchell appeared on The John Batchelor Show on News Talk Radio 77 WABC New York to discuss his new book Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil. Mitchell sat down with guest-host Chris Riback to discuss the political consequences of our collective dependence on oil and its larger role in shaping the contours of our contemporary political landscape.
WABC has just uploaded the audio links of the show on its website for download or to be streamed. Please visit The John Batchelor Show online or click here for the interview.
