This lecture examines the problematic nature of Alexandria in the modern Egyptian state. Beyond classic notions of romance, congeniality and cosmopolitanism, the coastal city has long been viewed by Cairo elites as the Trojan horse city due to its soft power effect and seat of oppositional politics. Over the past sixty years, the state has implemented an informal policy of political branding the city to suit ideological and economic agendas. This can be seen in Nasser's reprimanding of Alexandria for its long association with royal decadence, Sadat’s partial rehabilitation to signify his political shifting, to Mubarak's manipulation of the city's public spaces for reconciliation steps with the West. The talk also focuses on the post-2011 events that will illustrate the further fracturing of the coastal city as decades of centralisation have come to a head resulting in the disruption of the urban fabric, brain drain to the capital, the rise of the real estate mafia and the gradual assault on the cultural imaginary. However, the lecture will be concluded by examining the various civil society initiatives that are being undertaken to address these problems.
Amro Ali is a PhD scholar in the Department of
 Government and International Relations, and the Sydney Democracy Network, at the University of Sydney. His
 research examines the emergence of political public spaces in 
Alexandria, Egypt, since 2000. His blog can be viewed at www.amroali.com and Twitter @_amroali.