The Israeli onslaught on Gaza undoubtedly sent shockwaves through the Middle East and North Africa. As a journalist who’d been living in Egypt for over a decade, Eduard Cousin strongly felt this would be a defining moment for the region and its relations with the West.

In October 2023 Cousin was working on his latest book about postcolonial nostalgia, identity, (cultural) borders and proccesses of decolonisation in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. He quickly realised that, alongside other major 21st century challenges such as climate change, migration and global inequality, ‘Gaza’ was a core issue in his research.

This talk explores insights from Alexandria about present day orientalism and (post)colonialism. It traces the effect of geopolitics on the city’s modern history, how this history is being depicted, and how these affect current Alexandria. Through this, it offers a different perspective on relations between Europe and the Arab world in the context of global challenges. It aims to discuss how these relations may evolve in and determine the immediate future.

Eduard Cousin lived in Egypt from 2013 to 2024 where he worked as editor for local media and correspondent for various international and Dutch media, including France24, Al Jazeera, NRC and EW. In 2022 and 2023 he taught an university course at the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo on the politics of development in Egypt. In 2021 his book Nu de wereld niet meer kijkt appeared, a journalist’s account of the political and economic developments in Egypt after the Arab Spring. In October 2024 his second book, Alexandrië – het verhaal van een stad die leeft in het verleden, was published. He currently lives with his family in Amsterdam.