Public Affairs Discussion Group

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

Joshua Stacher, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Political Science at Kent State University





Friday September 10, 2010
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Crawford Hall - Room 9
Inamori Center
Case Western Reserve University

It is fair to say that the Muslim Brotherhood is an object of much discussion. Much of this makes claims about the Brotherhood's links to development of fundamentalist or jihadist movements around the world (including arguments about whether they are the same). But the Society of Muslim Brothers originated in Egypt, and the Egyptian Brothers' relationship with the Egyptian state and society is important both for the future of Egypt and the development of Islamic politics and society overall. Professor Stacher, while living in Cairo for many years, became a leading scholar of the Egyptian Brothers. He emphasizes in particular that trying to identify their intentions will be less useful, because more difficult, than seeking to understand the political context in which they operate.

Attention: Parking options for visitors from beyond campus include the Severance Hall parking garage on East Boulevard, the small lot on Adelbert Road just uphill from Euclid Ave, and other lots on campus. Every Friday a few spaces are available for visitors with mobility concerns, in the visitors parking lot next to Crawford Hall.

More About Our Guest....

Joshua Stacher is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Kent State University, where he researches Middle East politics and authoritarianism. He is currently working on a book that compares institutions and co-optation to explain authoritarian adaptation in Egypt and Syria. When not working on this project, Professor Stacher is researching hereditary succession in the Middle East as well as Islamist movements. In particular, he enjoys working on Egypt's Society of Muslim Brothers. Joshua Stacher's most recent article, Brotherly Intentions? The Egyptian Muslim Brothers and the Politics of a Debate, was published in History Compass in 2010. His article with Samer Shehata entitled, The Brotherhood Goes to Parliament, was highlighted in Foreign Affairs' "What to Read on Egpytian Politics," in 2009. Prior to arriving at Kent State, Joshua Stacher earned his doctorate from the University of St. Andrews' School of International Relations and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Middle East Studies Program at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He has lived abroad for nine years (1998-2007), mostly in Cairo but also in Damascus & St. Andrews.

Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

September 17: Jeremy Bendik-Kreymer, Associate Professor and Beamer-Schneider Chair in Philosophy: The Design of Arab Universities as a Political Act.

September 24: Dean Baker, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research (Washington DC): The Budget Deficit Panic.

October 1: Ashwini Sehgal MD, Duncan Neuhauser Professor of Community Health Improvement and Director, Center for Reducing Health Disparities, CWRU and Metrohealth: The U.S. News and World Report Hospital Rankings.

October 8: Karen Gahl-Mills, Executive Director, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture: How the Arts Levy is Spent.

October 15: Kathryn C. Lavelle, Ellen and Dixon Long Associate Professor of World Affairs: Sovereign Debt and Sovereign Default: International Institutions in the Developed and Developing Worlds.

October 22: Professor Karen Beckwith, Assistant Professor Justin Buchler, and Adjunct Assistant Professor Andrew Lucker, Department of Political Science: Midterm Elections Forecast.

October 29: Special Inamori Center Event, as part of International Peace and War Summit: see http://www.case.edu/provost/inamori/peacesummit/.

November 5: Kelly McMann, Associate Professor of Political Science: Unrest in Kyrgyzstan and Its Implications for the War in Afghanistan.

November 12: Max Mehlman, Professor of Law: Why We Need Death Panels.

November 19: Jessica Green, Assistant Professor of Political Science: Global Responses to Greenhouse Gases.

December 3: Paul Ernsberger, Associate Professor of Nutrition: Health At Any Size.

The Friday Lunch discussions are held on the lower (ground) level of Crawford Hall. Visitors with mobility issues may find it easiest to take advantage of special arrangements we have made. On most Fridays, a few parking spaces in the V.I.P. lot in between Crawford Hall and Amasa Stone Chapel are held for participants in the lunch discussion. Overflow parking is also available in the Severance Hall parking garage on East Boulevard.

Visitors then can avoid walking up the hill to the first floor of Crawford by entering the building on the ground level, through the garage area under the building. The further door on the left in that garage will be left unlocked during the period before the Friday lunch. On occasion, parking will be unavailable because of other university events.

For more information about these and other Center for Policy Studies programs, please see http://policy.case.edu.

September 7, 2010

Upcoming Events

STATES' UPRISING: THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF HEALTH CARE REFORM

THE HONORABLE RICHARD CORDRAY ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF OHIO AND THE HONORABLE THOMAS FISHER SOLICITOR GENERAL STATE OF INDIANA

Friday September 17, 2010, 4-5:30 p.m., Moot Court Room, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 11075 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio

On March 23, 2010 President Barack Obama signed into law The Patient Protection and Affordability Act, which represents the first comprehensive federal health care reform in the history of the United States. The legislation focuses on expansion of coverage and aims to improve the quality of the nation's health care system.

But it is not without controversy. More than twenty states are challenging the constitutionality of the bill; Indiana is one of them. The state of Ohio supports the legislation.

Sponsored by the Office of the President, Office of Government and Community Relations, Center for Policy Studies, and the School of Law. For more information please visit the Center for Policy Studies web site.

2010 Midterm Election Preview

September 24, 2010 7:30-9 p.m., Mandel Center Building, Room 115, 11402 Bellflower Road, Cleveland, OH

A panel discussion featuring: Jerry Austin one of America's most experienced and most successful strategists and advisors, having operated his own marketing and political consulting firm for more than 30 years and Mark Weaver a national political communications expert with more than two decades of high-level experience, having counseled clients at the national level and in 16 states.

For more information please visit the Center for Policy Studies web site.

The Budget Deficit: How Big an Issue, and What Should Be Done About It.

September 25, 2010 12:30-2 p.m., Mandel Center Building, Room 115, 11402 Bellflower Road, Cleveland, OH

A panel discussion featuring: Josh Gordon, Ph.D. the Policy Director of The Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to educating the public about federal budget issues and their consequences for the future and Dean Baker, Ph.D., a nationally known economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC.

For more information please visit the Center for Policy Studies web site.