Revolution knows no frontiers¶
Core Argument¶
Here, Alan Woods analyses the Egyptian uprising of January 2011 as a living refutation of the notion that revolutionary waves respect national borders. The core argument is that the fall of the Tunisian regime acted as a catalyst, triggering a domino effect across the Arab world that threatens the entire strategic architecture of Western imperialism in the Middle East. Woods insists that the Egyptian masses have already broken the back of the state’s authority, citing the BBC correspondent’s observation that “the state here has disappeared” as the headquarters of the ruling party burn and the police vanish. The curfew is a dead letter; the people have lost their fear. This psychological shift is the movement’s main strength.
Woods grounds the explosion in the material conditions produced by three decades of neoliberal counter-reform. The regimes of Sadat and Mubarak reversed the nationalist and socialist policies of the Nasser era, slavishly implementing IMF diktats after the 1991 economic reforms. The food price hikes that sparked the Tunisian revolution were not the work of Ben Ali but were “imposed by Wall Street and the IMF”. The same pattern of growing inequality, poverty and unemployment applies to Egypt. The “free market” was never a neutral economic policy; it was the mechanism by which US and European imperialism maintained control.
The chapter’s polemic is directed squarely at the hypocrisy of the “international community”. Woods notes that Washington, London, Paris and Berlin now urge Mubarak to refrain from violence and promise reform, yet these same powers financed his army and police for decades, turning a blind eye to torture in exchange for his service to Israeli and US interests. The real imperialist concern is not democracy but “stability”—the preservation of a client regime. The European statement praising Mubarak’s “balanced role” in the Middle East is exposed as code for his collaboration in strangling Gaza and betraying the Palestinians.
Woods extends the analysis to the regional shockwaves. The uprising has already reached Algeria, Yemen and Jordan. The Gulf monarchies, sitting on vast wealth while millions suffer, are terrified. The Palestinian leadership is discredited by secret collaborationist deals with Israel; neither Hamas’ rockets nor Abbas’ moderation offer a way forward. The Israeli ruling class, Woods argues, is more threatened by this mass revolutionary movement than by suicide bombers, because it cannot be contained by military force or used to rally domestic support. Netanyahu’s attempt to blame social media and Al Jazeera is dismissed as a shallow evasion.
The conclusion hinges on the role of the army. The troops are surrounded by protesters who climb on tanks and receive thumbs-up signals. When soldiers fire into the air, the crowd runs toward the gunfire, not away. This detail, Woods insists, reveals the limits of military power. The top brass will calculate their own interests and privileges, which are not identical to Mubarak’s survival. The regime is untenable; the mood on the streets is one of euphoria. The chapter ends with the claim that new, dramatic events are being prepared that will shake the world.