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About Tarek Osman

Tarek Osman is an Egyptian writer. He was educated at the American University in Cairo and Bocconi University in Italy. He is the author of Egypt on the Brink: From Nasser to Mubarak (Yale University Press, 2010)

Articles by Tarek Osman

Wednesday 2nd November

The middle east and war over Iran

Tarek Osman, 2 November 2011

The Arab world is remaking itself. But even as its states cope with multiple domestic challenges they also face a choice over how to respond to a prospective American and Israeli attack on Iran, says Tarek Osman.

Tuesday 11th October

Arab freedom vs geopolitics: a time of risk

Tarek Osman, 11 October 2011

The Arab spring of 2011 has entered a new phase. In this period, the emerging dangers to the fulfilment of its promise of transformation include the dynamics of inter-state power in the region, says Tarek Osman.

Tuesday 9th August

Egypt: nation, state, faith, and future

Tarek Osman, 9 August 2011

The political tumult in Egypt continues as the six-month anniversary of the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak nears. The rising Islamist influence puts the possibility of a religious turn in the revolution on the agenda. But how real is this prospect? Tarek Osman assesses it by looking at the deeper forces that have shaped modern Egypt over the last two centuries.

Tuesday 19th July

The green shoots of the Arab Spring

Tarek Osman, 19 July 2011

The Arab Spring is frequently portrayed as a series of uprisings against oppressive regimes. A more historically-oriented reading would see it as a rejection by young Arabs (the more than 185-million under the age of 30 years) of the socio-political heritage they inherited from the previous generation.

Tuesday 5th July

Egypt’s Islamists: asset and flaw

Tarek Osman, 5 July 2011

The forces of political Islam are everywhere in the kaleidoscope of post-revolution Egypt. But behind the confident exterior this is a movement divided and uncertain, says Tarek Osman.

Monday 9th May

The Arab prospect: forces and dynamics

Tarek Osman, 9 May 2011

The convulsions in the Arab world in 2011 are creating a new political and social reality. But what will be its character? Tarek Osman identifies three factors that are shaping the possible future.

Saturday 19th February

Egypt, Algeria, Yemen: Further reading on the Arab uprising

Tarek Osman, Martin Evans, John Phillips, and Victoria Clark, 19 February 2011

Yale University Press have issued this sampler from recent books on the Egypt, Yemen and Algeria. All provide important background information on the histories, societies, politics and economies of nations now thrust into the media spotlight.

Wednesday 9th February

Egypt: after revolt, transition

Tarek Osman, 9 February 2011

The explosion of protest in Egypt has emerged from deep currents in the country's modern history. Tarek Osman maps the roots of tumult and the dynamics of the new political reality it has already created.

Friday 26th November

Egypt’s election: power, actors, and...“change”

Tarek Osman, 26 November 2010

The iron rule of Hosni Mubarak has dominated Egypt for three decades. The regime he heads is preparing for the succession and seeking to channel Egyptians’ hunger for change into a tool of retrenchment. The secular opposition is absorbed by the effort of staying in the political game; the Muslim Brotherhood has larger ambitions. What place does a parliamentary election have in this landscape? An assessment from Tarek Osman, in Cairo.

Thursday 13th August

Egypt: the blinkers of expertise

Tarek Osman, 13 August 2009

The tendency of foreign observers to reduce complex Egyptian reality to formulaic description misses some of its most significant and dynamic elements

Friday 15th May