Prof. Mona El-Ghobashy comments on Egyptian politics

In recent weeks, political science professor Mona El-Ghobashy has appeared in the media talking about Egypt's political turmoil.

Listen to NPR's "Talk of the Nation" as Prof. El-Ghobashy discusses public opinion of President Morsi and the role of the United States in Egypt's struggle for democracy.

An excerpt from an article in The New York Times on December 1:
"“There are serious fears of vested authoritarian enclaves in the state trying to undermine the elected institutions and trying to torpedo the constitutional assembly,” said Mona El-Ghobashy, an Egyptian political scientist who teaches at Barnard College in New York. Some members of the former governing elite, she said, are trying to fire up opposition among more sincere “revolutionaries” who distrust the Islamists and politicians who see opportunity if the Islamists fail.

Still, Ms. Ghobashy faulted Mr. Morsi for not explaining himself to the public. In a moment of crisis, she said, he regressed to an older mode of leadership.

“It is an old style of politics: ‘Just let the big guys do the work, and we will tell you why later,’ ” she said, noting that Mr. Morsi had issued his decree temporarily exempting himself from judicial review without sending his spokesman to explain it to the public.

“I felt all over again like a nobody, the way Mubarak made 80 million Egyptians feel,” she said. “It is profoundly insulting.”"

Watch Prof. El-Ghobashy on CNN's Amanpour:

In The New York Times on November 24, Prof. El-Ghobashy was quoted in an article about Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and the Supreme Council of the Judiciary. An excerpt:
"To Mr. Morsi’s supporters, it was a vindication of the theory that judges and the opposition meant to block the assembly’s work entirely. “They are lending weight to his suspicions,” said Mona El-Ghobashy, an Egyptian professor at Barnard who studies both the Brotherhood and the courts."

Prof. El-Ghobashy is assistant professor of political science. Born and raised in Cairo, her work focuses on the politics of the Middle East and North Africa, with an emphasis on social movements and democratization.