Jacob Høigilt

Høigilt, J. (2017) Egyptian Comics and the Challenge to Patriarchal Authoritarianism. International Journal of Middle East Studies. [Online] 49 (1), 111–131.

Høigilt, J. (2011) Islamist Rhetoric: Language and Culture in Contemporary Egypt. Routledge.

Høigilt, J. & Mejdell, G. (eds.) (2017) The Politics of Written Language in the Arab World. Leiden: Brill.

• Selvik, Kjetil & Høigilt, Jacob (2021). Journalism under Instrumentalized Political Parallelism. Journalism Studies.  ISSN 1461-670X. Vis sammendrag

  Media systems where political parallelism co-exists with political clientelism have contradictory influences on journalistic practices. Journalists are encouraged to actively defend a cause and influence public opinion while expected to remain subservient to their political masters. The media studies literature has analyzed the impact of political parallelism and clientelism separately, without reflecting on the tensions that emerge when they operate together. The article examines journalism under instrumentalized political parallelism and argues that it plays out in a field defined by both horizontal and vertical conflicts. We add an elite-grassroots analytical perspective to the inter-elite tensions associated with a polarized public sphere. Political parallelism in non-democratic contexts seemingly leaves little room for journalistic agency, as the politically powerful tend to instrumentalize media outlets. However, by looking closely at the case of Lebanon, we argue that journalists are still able to act independently of and contrary to the elite’s intentions. The empirical analysis shows how journalists navigate vis-à-vis the politicians by playing the relations game, exploiting internal contradictions in the system and connecting with popular grievances. The article contributes new knowledge about journalists' resilience to instrumentalization in a context of media/politics connections that is commonly found outside the West.

• voltmer, katrin; Selvik, Kjetil & Høigilt, Jacob (2021). Hybrid media and hybrid politics: Contesting informational uncertainty in Lebanon and Tunisia. The International Journal of Press/Politics.  ISSN 1940-1612.
• Høigilt, Jacob & Selvik, Kjetil (2020). Debating terrorism in a political transition: Journalism and democracy in Tunisia. International Communication Gazette.  ISSN 1748-0485. . doi: 10.1177/1748048519897519 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  In March 2015, in the midst of a political transition, Tunisia was rocked by a terrorist attack at the Bardo Museum in downtown Tunis in which 21 people were killed. How did Tunisian journalists manage the tension between a heightened sense of insecurity and the country’s uncertain democratic development? This article analyses journalistic commentary on the causes and implications of terrorism four years into the transition sparked by the Arab uprisings. It provides an empirically nuanced perspective on the role of journalism in political transitions, focusing on journalists as arbitrators in public debate. We argue that influential Tunisian journalists fell back on interpretive schema from the Ben Ali era when they tried to make sense of the Bardo attack, thus facilitating the authoritarian drift of the Tunisian government at the time. They actively contributed to the non-linearity of a political transition, despite enjoying real freedom of speech.

• Høigilt, Jacob (2019). The futility of rights-based humanitarian aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Disasters. The Journal of Disaster Studies, Policy and Management.  ISSN 0361-3666.  43(2), s S169- S186 . doi: 10.1111/disa.12334
• Høigilt, Jacob (2018). Borgernes stemme. Populærkultur, språk og politikk i den arabiske verden. Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier.  ISSN 1503-5727.  16(2), s 106- 119 . doi: 10.5617/ba.6731 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2018). Jihadisme, islamisme og krigen mot nyanser, I: Anna Andersson; Sofie Alexandra Engli Høgestø & Anne Christine Lie (red.),  Fremmedkrigere. Forebygging, straffeforfølgning og rehabilitering i Skandinavia.  Gyldendal Juridisk.  ISBN 9788205502659.  chapter.  s 299 - 320
• Høigilt, Jacob (2018). The Contemporary Politics of Written Arabic. Brown Journal of World Affairs.  ISSN 1080-0786.  25(1), s 41- 54
• Høigilt, Jacob (2017). Dialect with an Attitude: Language and Criticism in New Egyptian Print Media, In Gunvor Mejdell & Jacob Høigilt (ed.),  The Politics of Written Language in the Arab World. Writing Change..  Brill Academic Publishers.  ISBN 9789004346161.  7.  s 166 - 189
• Høigilt, Jacob (2017). Egyptian comics and the challenge to patriarchal authoritarianism. International Journal of Middle East Studies.  ISSN 0020-7438.  49(1), s 111- 131 . doi: 10.1017/S0020743816001161 Vis sammendrag

  Adult comics are a new medium in the Arab world. This article is the first in-depth study of their emergence and role within Arab societies. Focused on Egypt, it shows how adult comics have boldly addressed political and social questions. Seeing them as part of a broader cultural efflorescence in Egypt, I argue that, against patriarchal authoritarianism, adult comics have expressed an alternative ideology of tolerance, civic rights and duties, individualism, creativity, and criticism of power. Specifically, they present a damning critique of Egypt's authoritarian order, as well as of the marginalization of women and broader gender dynamics in Egyptian society. Through frank humor, a playful style, and explicit graphics, they give voice to the concerns of young Egyptians. Connecting comics to other art forms such as music, graffiti, and political cartoons, I situate them within a critical cultural movement that came to the fore with the Egyptian uprising of 2011.

• Høigilt, Jacob (2017). Å balansere på en knivsegg: Mot sosialt sammenbrudd blant unge palestinere i Øst-Jerusalem. Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier.  ISSN 1503-5727.  15(1), s 50- 59 . doi: 10.5617/ba.4344 Fulltekst i vitenarkiv. Vis sammendrag

  Hvordan forklare den såkalte «knivintifadaen» i Israel og på Vestbredden høsten 2015 og våren 2016? En analyse av situasjonen for unge i Jerusalem gir svar.

• Mejdell, Gunvor & Høigilt, Jacob (2017). Introduction, In Gunvor Mejdell & Jacob Høigilt (ed.),  The Politics of Written Language in the Arab World. Writing Change..  Brill Academic Publishers.  ISBN 9789004346161.  Introduksjon.  s 1 - 18
• Bjorvatn, Kjetil & Høigilt, Jacob (2016). Youth and the Arab Revolutions, In Kjetil Selvik & Bjørn Olav Utvik (ed.),  Oil States in the New Middle East: Uprisings and stability.  Routledge.  ISBN 978-1-13-888834-0.  3.  s 39 - 56
• Høigilt, Jacob (2016). Fatah from Below: The Clash of Generations in Palestine. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies.  ISSN 1353-0194.  43(4), s 456- 471 . doi: 10.1080/13530194.2015.1116375
• Høigilt, Jacob (2016). Islam og islamisme i konflikten mellom Israel og palestinere. Religion og livssyn : Tidsskrift for religionslærerforeningen i Norge.  ISSN 0802-8214.  28(3), s 6- 12
• Høigilt, Jacob (2016). Å balansere på en knivsegg : mot sosialt sammenbrudd blant unge palestinere i Øst-Jerusalem. Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier.  ISSN 1503-5727.  14(2), s 50- 59 . doi: 10.5617/ba.4344
• Kindt, Kristian Takvam; Høigilt, Jacob & Kebede, Tewodros Aragie (2016). Writing change: Diglossia and popular writing practices in Egypt. Arabica.  ISSN 0570-5398.  63(3-4), s 324- 376 . doi: 10.1163/15700585-12341405 Vis sammendrag

  Arabic is considered a paradigmatic case of diglossia, where written language is regarded as largely the domain of fuṣḥā. Presenting the results of a large-scale survey of language attitudes and practices in Cairo, we argue that this view should be reconsidered. A representative majority of Cairo’s literate population in fact report writing predominantly in the vernacular (ʿāmmiyya), and also regard it as a legitimate written variety, contradicting common assumptions about popular language attitudes. At the same time, fuṣḥā retains its position as an idealized prestigious variety. These surprising results are explained by rising levels of literacy and the growth of computer-mediated communication. The results encourage a rethinking of the language situation in the Arab world, supporting the view that diglossia is a social and cultural resource rather than a problem.

• Høigilt, Jacob (2015). Nonviolent mobilization between a rock and a hard place: Popular resistance and double repression in the West Bank. Journal of Peace Research.  ISSN 0022-3433.  52(5), s 636- 648 . doi: 10.1177/0022343315572497
• Høigilt, Jacob (2014). Prophets in their own country? Hizb al- Tahrir in the Palestinian context. Politics, Religion & Ideology.  ISSN 2156-7689.  15(4), s 504- 520 . doi: 10.1080/21567689.2014.965692 Vis sammendrag

  Hizb al-Tahrir (the Liberation Party, henceforth HT) is a unique kind of islamist organization. Compared with the two major islamist movements – Salafism and the Muslim Brothers – it exhibits certain similarities with each one but is clearly different from both. While most research to date has focused on HT in Europe and Central Asia, this article explores the ideology and function of HT in the West Bank, where it was founded in 1953 and where its leadership comes from today. By analysing Ht in the Palestinian context, it becomes apparent how important ideology is for the party, as the Palestine question has no pride of place even in the Palestinian branch of HT. Instead, it is the global aspiration of re-establishing the islamic caliphate that is of paramount importance. This very focus on ideology has led the party into relative obscurity in the Palestinian Islamist landscape, however. The analysis shows that a full understanding of HT must take into consideration the local contexts in which it operates; and that it is untenable on both ideological and practical grounds to lump different islamist movements together in one shared category.

• Høigilt, Jacob & Nome, Frida Austvoll (2014). Egyptian salafism in revolution. Journal of Islamic Studies.  ISSN 0955-2340.  25(1), s 33- 54 . doi: 10.1093/jis/ett056
• Nordenson, Jon & Høigilt, Jacob (2014). Tahrir-litteraturen. Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier.  ISSN 1503-5727.  2014(1), s 92- 100 Vis sammendrag

  ​Er det ikke for tidlig å gi ut bøker om de arabiske opprørene? Kanskje, og kvaliteten er varierende, men verdien av bøker skrevet før fasiten er klar er åpenbar.

• Høigilt, Jacob (2013). The Palestinian Spring that Was Not: The Youth and Political Activism in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Arab Studies Quarterly.  ISSN 0271-3519.  35(4), s 343- 359 . doi: 10.13169/arabstudquar.35.4.0343 Vis sammendrag

  This article explains the current political role of the Palestinian youth by comparing the period shortly before the First and Second Intifadas with the current situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). It critically interrogates the oft-repeated assertion that the Palestinian youth are characterized by political anomie, showing that the political role of the youth in the OPT is constrained by three factors: Israeli occupation, oppression by Fatah and Hamas, and the political paralysis resulting from the split between these two dominant political organizations. However, the present youth activism challenges the policies of both Fatah and Hamas, and draws strength from its utilization of international cooperation and its popular practices. While it is still small, this youthful activism displays a determination, clear-headedness and independence that contrast with the political culture in the dominant factions of Palestinian politics.

• Kverme, Kai Egon & Høigilt, Jacob (2012). Elsker, elsker ikke ... Libanon, Palestina og Syria. Internasjonal Politikk - Skandinavisk tidsskrift for internasjonale studier.  ISSN 0020-577X.  (4), s 520- 528
• Kverme, Kai Egon & Høigilt, Jacob (2012). Love, do not love... Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. Internasjonal Politikk - Skandinavisk tidsskrift for internasjonale studier.  ISSN 0020-577X.  70(4), s 520- 528
• Bangstad, Sindre & Høigilt, Jacob (2011). Hvordan forstå Muslimbrødrene? Islamisme i den arabiske og europeiske konteksten. Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift.  ISSN 0800-336X.  28(2), s 123- 134
• Høigilt, Jacob (2011). Håndlangere for Hamas? Islamske privatskolers rolle i de okkuperte palestinske områdene. Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier.  ISSN 1503-5727. . doi: 10.5617/ba.4254
• Høigilt, Jacob (2010). Rhetoric and ideology in Egypt's Wasatiyya Movement. Arabica.  ISSN 0570-5398.  57, s 251- 266
• Høigilt, Jacob (2008). Systematic Functional Linguistics and Contemporary Islamic Rhetoric in Egypt, In Zeinab Ibrahim & Sanaa Makhlouf (ed.),  Linguistics in an Age of Globalization.  The American University in Cairo Press.  ISBN 9789774161490.  Artikkel.  s 181 - 191
• Høigilt, Jacob & Selvik, Kjetil (2008). Hva er islamisme?. Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier.  ISSN 1503-5727.  (2), s 8- 20
• Høigilt, Jacob (2007). Islamism, Pluralism and the Palestine Question: The Case of Hizbullah. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies.  ISSN 1353-0194.  34(2), s 123- 136 . doi: 10.1080/13530190701427859

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• Høigilt, Jacob (2019). Comics in Contemporary Arab Culture: Politics, Language and Resistance. I.B. Tauris.  ISBN 9781784539856.  248 s.
• Mejdell, Gunvor & Høigilt, Jacob (ed.) (2017). The Politics of Written Language in the Arab World. Writing Change.. Brill Academic Publishers.  ISBN 9789004346161.  308 s.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2010). Islamist Rhetoric: Language and culture in contemporary Egypt. Routledge.  ISBN 978-0-415-57440-2.  200 s.

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• Høigilt, Jacob (2021, 25. januar). 10-årsmarkering for den arabiske våren (Nyhetsettermiddag P2). [Radio].  NRK P2.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2020, 26. mai). Begrenses av selvsensur.  Journalen.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2020, 06. november). Liten oppslutning om parlamentsvalg i Egypt. [Radio].  NRK P2.
• Høigilt, Jacob & NRK, P2 (2020, 06. august). Beirut får hjelp etter eksplosjonen. [Radio].  NRK P2.
• Høigilt, Jacob & Selvik, Kjetil (2020). Introduction. International Communication Gazette.  ISSN 1748-0485. . doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048519897486
• Høigilt, Jacob & Selvik, Kjetil (2020). Journalism under instrumentalized political parallelism.
• Høigilt, Jacob & Sending, Ole Jacob (2020, 13. august). Verden sett fra Beirut. [Internett].  Polyteknisk forening.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2019). Aid without Rights? The Dilemma of Humanitarian Aid to the Palestinians. PRIO Policy Brief. 6.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2019, 25. juni). Fredsplan for Midtøsten (Dagsnytt 18). [Radio].  NRK P2.
• Høigilt, Jacob & Merabti, Sara (2019). Demokratiforsøket. Klassekampen.  ISSN 0805-3839.
• Sandvik, Kristin Bergtora; Høigilt, Jacob & Liden, Kristoffer (2019). Humanitarian policy: How do we make it and what is it good for? Launch of IHSA Disasters Special Issue.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2018, 20. desember). Rettssak mot NGO-ansatte i Egypt (Nyhetsmorgen P2). [Radio].  NRK P2.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2018, 26. mars). Valget i Egypt (Nyhetsmorgen NRK P2). [Radio].  NRK P2.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2014). Dispatches from the Arab Spring. Journal of Islamic Studies.  ISSN 0955-2340.  25(2) . doi: 10.1093/jis/etu041
• Høigilt, Jacob (2014). Egypt's Tahrir revolution. Journal of Islamic Studies.  ISSN 0955-2340.  25(2), s 231- 233 . doi: 10.1093/jis/etu014
• Høigilt, Jacob (2014). Fatah from below: The clash of generations in Palestine.
• Heggen, Øystein & Høigilt, Jacob (2013, 30. oktober). Israel løslater 26 palestinske fanger. [Radio].  NRK P2 nyhetsmorgen.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2013). Failing Against the Odds: Palestinian youth activism in the West Bank.
• Høigilt, Jacob & Rosmer, Tilde (2013). Failing Against the Odds? Palestinian youth mobilization in the West Bank, Gaza and Israel.
• Kindt, Kristian Takvam; Kebede, Tewodros Aragie & Høigilt, Jacob (2013). Language Change in Egypt: Social and Cultural Indicators Survey: A Tabulation Report. FAFO-rapport. 2013:39.
• Selvik, kjetil & Stenslie, Stig (2012). Authoritarian Legacy Still Weighs Heavily on Middle East. Global Times.
• Stenslie, Stig & Selvik, kjetil (2012). Når stabiliteten rakner. Klassekampen.  ISSN 0805-3839.
• Tiltnes, Åge Arild; Christophersen, Mona & Høigilt, Jacob (2012). Palestinian Youth and the Arab Spring.
• Akerhaug, Lars & Høigilt, Jacob (2008, 24. april). Klart for ny krig i Libanon. [Internett].  http://www.abcnyheter.no.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2008). Writing Islamism. Rhetoric and ideology in contemporary Egypt. Vis sammendrag

  This thesis is a text-linguistic study of the rhetoric of three central Islamist figures in Egypt today: Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Amr Khalid and Muhammad Ammara. Its aim is to investigate the connection between Islamist rhetoric and the current structure of the Islamic field in Egypt. The figures studied occupy very different positions in the Islamic field, representing three different groups of agents: Islamic scholars, charismatic lay preachers and lay Islamic intellectuals. These groups all contribute in different ways to making Islamism the dominant order of discourse in Egyptian debates about culture and religion. Grounded in Systemic Functional Grammar, the thesis explores three linguistic areas in detail: Pronoun use, Mood choices and configurations of processes and participants. The thesis asks how the writers relate to their readers and how they construe concepts that are central in the current Islamic revival, such as ‘Islamic thought’, ‘Muslims’, and ‘the West’. The main result of the investigation is that centrist Islamism in Egypt is more diversified in terms of its sociology and ideology than is usually reckoned with. Specifically, great differences obtain between the Islamists' attitudes to religious authority and the secular 'other'. Furthermore, similar rhetorical differences are found among secular liberals, so the thesis introduces an alternative divide in Egyptian public debate: between text cultures rather than ideologies. The significance of the thesis is both practical and theoretical. On the practical level, it argues for a more nuanced understanding of contemporary non-violent Islamism. On the theoretical level, it adds to the slowly growing body of Arabic discourse analysis by employing Functional Grammar to study the links between language and society in the Arab world.

• Høigilt, Jacob (2006). Cooperating or Guiding? The Languages of Islamic Revival in Contemporary Egypt.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2006). De "vanskelige" muslimene. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).  ISSN 0804-3116.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2006, 26. april). Nettprat om islam og terrorisme. [Internett].  aftenposten.no.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2006). Systemic Functional Linguistics and Contemporary Islamic Rhetoric in Egypt. Vis sammendrag

  Two linguistic theories, Systemic Functional Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis, are presented and employed to throw light on some of the rhetorical structures that are used in contemporary Islamic rhetoric in Egypt. The text under analysis is taken from the works of the well-known Islamic thinker Muhammad Imara.

• Høigilt, Jacob & Aas, Harald (2006, 20. oktober). Islams superevangelist.  Apollon.
• Høigilt, Jacob & Fransson, Line (2006, 20. oktober). Islams superevangelist. [Internett].  Dagbladet.no.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2006). Occidentalism. Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier.  ISSN 1503-5727.  4(1)
• Høigilt, Jacob (2005). Feilslått islamdebatt. Klassekampen.  ISSN 0805-3839.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2005). Venner av Amerika. Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier.  ISSN 1503-5727.  3(1), s 56- 64
• Høigilt, Jacob (2004). Islamsk teologi som ideologisk slagmark. Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier.  ISSN 1503-5727.  2(1), s 138- 147
• Høigilt, Jacob (2004). Med egne ord.
• Høigilt, Jacob (2003). Det avgjørende demokratiet. Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier.  ISSN 1503-5727.  1(1), s 6- 14
• Høigilt, Jacob (2003). For en europeisering av islamismen. Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift.  ISSN 0800-336X.  (2)
• Høigilt, Jacob (2002). Islamism and Pluralism: Hizbullah after the Israeli Withdrawal.

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