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The Postcolonial Politics of Dignity: From the 1956 Suez Nationalization to the 2011 Revolution in Egypt

This piece studies the politics of dignity in a post-colonial society through the historical lens of significant events in Egypt, specifically the nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956 and the 2011 revolution. During both of these political events, calls for material, cultural, and spiritual dignity were important discourses. In the context of international development discourse, the politics of dignity in 2011 were focused on the poor and their material dignity as that is the focus of capitalism. Interestingly, the Arabic word for dignity is karama (كرامة ), rooted from the word meaning generosity. El Bernoussi argues that in a post-colonial context, dignity is incomplete without recognition; the goal is rather “dignition”. However, in her call for recognition, she leaves out the answer to the question: recognition by whom?

El Bernoussi, Zaynab. “The Postcolonial Politics of Dignity: From the 1956 Suez Nationalization to the 2011 Revolution in Egypt.” INTERNATIONAL SOCIOLOGY 30, no. 4: 367–82. doi:10.1177/0268580914537848.

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