Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity

Mitchell, Timothy. Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity. CA: University of California Pres, 2002. 413 pp.

Rule of Experts, an odd title for a book on modern Egypt, is an exhaustive account of the modern economic development of Egypt from about the mid 1930's to the present. It examines the creation of that economic life including the issue of "political expertise," in the "post colonial" period, meaning since independence. The study criticizes the work of the IMF and that of USAID, as to their adaptability and the assessment of their goals.

Timothy Mitchell is a professor of politics at New York University and his study is the result of several field-trips to Egypt, for over a decade. This first hand study observes the operation of Egyptian economic life.

Mitchell's study focuses on "techno-politics" which tries to administer the theory and practice of modern western economics in a tribal peasant economy. (This is similar to the attempts of the Lebanese government's techno-cratic cabinets trying to solve Lebanon's socio-political problems along western lines.) Perhaps the real problem is that the models do not fit the prevailing situations!

Rule of Experts repeats the omen that you can not graft western (modern) political democracy, economic capitalism or liberal socialism onto an Islamic, tribal, society, without major attempts at synthesis and accommodations. This study is an excellent lesson for other Third World nations. It is very well research from both Arabic and Western sources and studies.

AJ. Abraham John Jay College

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