Researching the Historicity of Democracy in Ottoman Egypt

Show notes

Robin Schmahl is a research fellow at ZMO and a PhD-candidate at Freie Universität Berlin. Being part of the international research network 'Historicity of Democracy in the Arab and Muslim Worlds' (HISDEMAB), his main research focus is Ottoman Egypt. Which deliberation practices during the French occupation can be traced back and what does deliberation mean in this context? What makes the approach of “historicity” unique as opposed to simply looking at the history of democracy in the region? Robin also shares his archival research experiences in Europe and the Middle East, reflecting on the material’s languages and his positionality as a researcher. The episode is moderated by Lena Herzog-Sounaye, ZMO’s former knowledge transfer officer.

Throughout the episode, Lena and Robin speak about:

• Why there is an Ottoman Embassy inside ZMO’s building
• Ottoman Egypt from 1517 to 1801 and the power and influence of the Mamluks during this period
• The importance of deliberation (or Shūrā) for the Egyptian civil population under the French campaign
• The multifaceted everyday life and the necessary fieldwork on history and democracy in the Middle East
• The Do's and Don’ts of researching in different archives
• The importance of positionality when working as a German researcher in archives all around the world
• And what Indiana Jones has to do with that
• The benefits of working with an international team of researchers that he has experienced since joining the HISDEMAB-project
• Robin’s recommendations for young researchers who are going to do archival work in the region

Further information: https://www.zmo.de/forschung/ergaenzende-forschung/robin-schmahl https://www.zmo.de/forschung/hisdemab