Environmental Politics in Egypt: Activists, Experts, and the State
(Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics, 2012)
http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415783002/

Based on extensive fieldwork from the late 1990s to 2011, the book shows how environmental experts and activists sought to influence state policies and corporate behavior.  The book analyzes donor-sponsored projects, popular campaigns, and public controversies to show why some environmental initiatives proved more successful than others in creating institutional change.  The volume includes case studies of efforts to limit industrial pollution and protect public health, conserve habitats and manage protected areas, and decentralize and restructure the irrigation system.

Providing an in-depth look at environmental governance in several cities and provinces in addition to the national level, the book analyzes how environmental networks engaged state-owned enterprises, central ministries, the military, judiciary, and provincial governors under the Sadat and Mubarak regimes and in first year of post-revolutionary politics. The concluding chapter shows how Egypt’s ongoing political transition poses new challenges and opportunities for environmental networks, as a variety of groups assert claims to land, resources, and livelihoods through the intensified use of direct action, local protest, and informal encroachment.

Content: 1. Networks, Authority and Environmental Politics in Egypt 2. Managerial Networks: Domestic Institutional-Building and International Engagement 3. Persistent Hotspots of Industrial Pollution: Managerial Networks, State- Ownership, and Poor Environmental Performance 4. Activist Networks and Anti-Pollution Campaigns in the Provinves 5. Natural Heritage, Mass Tourism: Conservation Networks and Coastal Land Use Conflicts 6. From Masqa to Ministry: Managerial Networks and Integrated Water Management 7. Environmental Politics in Revolutionary Times

Author’s bio: Jeannie L. Sowers is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire. Her research focuses on the intersections of politics and environmental issues in the Middle East and North Africa. She co-edited The Journey to Tahrir: Revolution, Protest, and Social Change in Egypt (2012), and has published articles in Climatic Change, the Journal of Environment and Development, Development and Change, and Middle East Report. http://pubpages.unh.edu/~jlu36/