This excerpt from "Colonising Egypt - Enframing.pdf" analyzes the imposition of disciplinary power in 19th-century Egypt under Muhammad Ali's rule and its subsequent European influence. The text examines how military reforms, using Prussian and French models, created a system of continuous surveillance and control that extended beyond the army to encompass the entire Egyptian population, particularly the peasantry. This involved confining people to their villages, meticulously regulating their work, and establishing a hierarchical system of supervision and punishment. The author contrasts this "enframing" approach to order with pre-modern Middle Eastern practices, highlighting the differences in spatial organization, social relations, and conceptions of order and meaning. Ultimately, the text argues that the new system aimed to increase productivity for the European market by creating a legible and controllable population through spatial and social regimentation.

Please note that the podcast covers key points from the source with synthetic voices, which may have glitches. It’s a reflective, not comprehensive, interpretation.

Mitchell, T. (2003). Colonising Egypt (Repr). Univ. of California Press. (pp.34-62)

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