ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that despite the fact that the postcolonial state bears a large portion of this burden, nevertheless, this phenomenon was mainly a direct product of colonial authorities. This pattern was originated with the end of WWI, as embodied in Law 10 of 1914, known as the Anti-Demonstration Law. This law was the first legal statute in modern Egypt to criminalise the freedom of peaceful assembly. Moreover, while the British occupation officially ended in 1954, the postcolonial authorities did not disrupt the oppressive legacy of the occupation authorities, and rather continued to use their legislation. By tracking both colonial and postcolonial discourse and practices, this chapter argues that postcolonial authorities were a continuation of the colonial power by other means. Both authorities were keen to employ the discourses and practices of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency to eliminate resistance, restrain opposition movements, and abort democratisation attempts.
