'In this meticulously researched book, Kennedy examines the many faces of Islamism in Egypt and the dialectical relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood, the most powerful Islamist trend, and the authoritarian nationalist state. Conceptually rigorous and empirically rich, From Independence to Revolution highlights the multiple dualities in Egyptian politics and the fierce struggle for power which has led to an arrested ... Read moresocial development. Kennedy's book deserves wide readership.'
Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics, author of ISIS: A History 'In this well-researched book, Kennedy tracks the testy relationship between the various strands of Egyptian Islamism and the bureaucratic-authoritarian orders of Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak. In her focus on Islamism's ideological and strategic shortcomings, Kennedy advances our understanding of Egypt's religio-political landscape, including the contentious events that led to the downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013.'
John Calvert, Professor of History, Creighton University, author of Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism 'Kennedy provides a theoretically informed and readable account of Egyptian Islamism. The book's strength is to locate the evolution of distinct Islamist trends within Egypt's shifting economic, political and social terrain. Kennedy develops a convincing argument to explain why Islamism was unable to capitalise on the opportunity presented by the fall of the Mubarak regime in 2011.'
Ewan Stein, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Edinburgh, and author of Intellectual Dynamics in the Middle East and North Africa 'From Independence to Revolution is a superb account of Egyptian Islamism and its interactions with the state. Kennedy adeptly deploys Gramscian concepts to provide the reader with a theoretically informed study of how to understand Islamism in Egypt. It is this novel theoretical approach that makes this such a significant contribution to the study of an important phenomenon.'
Francesco Cavatorta, Associate Professor, Universite Laval in Quebec, Canada, co-editor of Salafism After the Arab Awakening 'Kennedy . . . provides incisive analysis of Egyptian politics since 1952, notably of the role of Islamist movements . . . This is an important study, based on extensive research (including interviews). It will be essential reading not just for students of contemporary Egypt and of Islamist movements, but also, in light of its theoretical treatment of central concerns of comparative politics, for many others as well.'
G. E. Perry Show Less