How can music explain a country's political culture?

Every society is shaped by its culture, and Music and the Arts are at the heart of these developments. From the Pharaonic Era to the modern day Arab Republic of Egypt, the Arts have influence all aspects of Egyptian civilization. Singing legend Umm Kulthum not only enhanced the Arab music industry, but also brought governmental support to Egyptian music, assisted the state economy, and proliferated her art form across the world. Composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab wrote the Egyptian National Anthem and in turn was granted the rank of General in the Egyptian Military. Literary Art Legend Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize and introduced the rest of the world to Arabic Literature, all while introducing ideas of religious tolerance and political freedom to Arab societies throughout the Middle East. Using the seven Political-Military Factors as a guide, the author researches these and other music and art legends to show the impact of the Liberal Arts on Egyptian civilization and globalization. Based on this research the author proposes and designs an Egyptian-hosted Arab Arts Festival to help unify and stabilize the Middle Eastern Region. * This paper was originally written in 2007 for a military audience.

2020

Music and Politics Music, born with people, developed, shaped by society. Music is shaped by individuals as well as the culture of individual. Music, which is a variable of human-created culture, is greatly influenced by science and institutions. Every event in the historical process, wars, prohibitions, rules, prosperity, abundance, has affected every aspect of society and music deeply. Music has become a whole with politics, which allows it to develop and allows it to develop, and is sometimes more effective than oral messages. Political institutions are the ultimate sources of legitimate power within the social system. Political institutions, whose main task is to regulate society, are known even in the most primitive cultures. Since the most primitive societies, there has been a close relationship between music and political institutions. In today's politics, various elements of music are utilized; national identity, collective memory, political message and diplomacy and others. Music regulates the interactions between the individuals who make up the society, the relations of societies with each other, and provides social and inter-communal agreement, solidarity, sharing and fusion. Music is an important indicator in determining the level of development of a nation. The point of music, which is a social phenomenon, is in parallel with the point of society. The musical environment in which society lives allows to express the general culture level. Firstly, music is the symbol of a state, political ideology or institution. Music gives a sense of political unity. The community can be controlled with stereotyped music. Music can be created by referring to the past, cultural values and experiences of society. In this way, with one music, the community has the same feelings as a whole. In addition, collective memory is the term for the memories of a group of people who have collected them through shared social experiences. We can see that music is a symbol of society and has a connection in this community because of a memory. For example, an anthem can be written about a war that has taken place. This war is one of the elements that keep that society together, and with the anthem written about it, the community becomes a single body again. Music is a language. From different regions, different regions, different countries, from different continents, different communities, different societies, different nations; in short, it is a language in which different people from different cultures can meet. To create national feelings, thoughts, designs and impressions; With the development of national emotions, thoughts, spreading the love of nature, country, people, society and nation among the individuals and organizations forming the society, music symbolizes (national anthems were music that symbolized national unity.) national unity and fulfills its national functions. Dunbar says that music is more rememberable than words because it adds speed, emotion and vitality to communication (Dunbar, 1990, 199; cited in Gleba, 2006, 4). Hevner claims that there are two main characteristics of music. Preparing music in fast, paced, active, energetic and different rhythms makes it perceived as happy, joyful, pleasant and attractive. Normal words do not carry a tempo, so the other party cannot feel a different feeling. Due to the tempo contained in

Music plays a vital role in the politics of any given country in the world. The expression of political ideas in music has been witnessed all over the world since time immemorial. Political revolution has been geared by musical expression whereby artists bring their beliefs on board through music (Drott, 2011). It has been noted that the efficiency of music in causing revolution was based on the youths' perspective. The youths would rather listen to music instead of long boring speeches from politicians (Madrid, n.d.). When their favorite musicians emerge to

2007

Music is an undeniably important element in human culture. It exists in every known human society and in every period of time for which we have knowledge. Recent suggest that even Neanderthal man made music. (1.) Although it is not yet possible to agree on the actual function of music in any society, the structure of music and the manner in which it is used can tell us much about the society itself, its social structure and stratification as well as telling us much about patterns of diffusion and assimilation.

2019

In Ancient Egypt, music was an important element of the public space, structuring military parades, royal festivals and religious processions. At the same time, all these settings can be understood as political space, inasmuch as they always served political communication as well. The present paper investigates how music and musical instruments were employed to this effect and how political realities and their changes are reflected in the choices involved.

Psychology of Art and Creativity, vol. 2, 2015

Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication, 2020

In July 2013, after months of protest, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, was ousted by the Egyptian armed forces. The Muslim Brotherhood, who supported Morsi, took to the streets, chanting and singing against the ousting, which they termed a military coup, while supporters of Sisi, who viewed it as a revolution, began producing songs to show their allegiance to the military leadership. While abundant research has been conducted on the role of oppositional and revolutionary music in Egypt since 2011, relatively little has been done on the widely popular pro-military music sometimes known as watani music. Watani songs are a genre of patriotic music made by popular artists to show their allegiance to the Egyptian armed forces. In this paper I examine the surge of watani songs and trace their history back to the Nasser era, thereby showing a continuity in style as well as content. I further argue that there are connections between nationalism and gender constructions, as the national project comes with obligations for men to offer their bodies to the cause. This obligation is aided by constructions about ‘male bravery’ and ‘courage’ that are designed to make men believe that military service is somehow essential to masculinity. Watani music, whether commissioned or not, fits well with this mythology of military men. It forms an ideological undercurrent, supports the narrative that it is necessary for patriotic military men to bravely safeguard the nation against its enemies.

This thesis will critically discuss cultural leadership and the social impact of culture on conflict in the Middle-East, with a particular focus on music. Exploring the works of two case studies, (Daniel Barenboims East-Western Divan Orchestra and Paradise Sorouri), the paper will discuss the complex roles of cultural leaders in conflicted regions, their relation to their contextual environment, and their potential social impact. Drawing from Kay et als. ‘Cultural Leadership Reader’ (2010), literature on social impact of the arts, and academic theory regarding culture in relation to conflict, this thesis demonstrates the apparent roles for cultural leaders and institutions to provide various socially developmental services to society, as well as highlighting the issues inherent in this approach to cultural intervention (instrumentalism, ideological agenda’s, and the proposed ‘impotence’ of art in affecting culture). In doing so, I hope to further academic discourse and research into the relationship between music and conflict, and cultures role in post-conflict development.

JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE ON SOCIAL STUDIES (JAPSS), 2022

Music is used by politicians as means to reach the masses by conveying succinctly their message and boosting their images. The state also uses music to preserve some of its memories as well. However, music and musicians have suffered at the hands of politicians when the music turns to criticize politicians or the standard norms in the state or society. Thus, Music can be either an ideological tool in the hands of the state or a symbol of critique that incurs state oppression. Historically, different examples show how important role music can play in the dissolution and collapse of a political organization as well as its establishment and construction. From Plato, More, Campanella to Khomeini, philosophers, thinkers, rulers, and politicians mention the significance of music in statehood. In this study, it is argued that this view can be seen as a projection of totalitarian thought within the historical line mentioned. In this context, although music is seen as a harmless act that is essentially non-political, depending on the preference of the individual or group, and a harmless act that is not inherently political, some thinkers consider it a disruptive act that can disrupt the social order and harmony, and encourage people's indifference or disobedience to political power, or even rebellion, therefore, it is perceived as a phenomenon that should be controlled and censored.

Technoarete Transactions on Advances in Social Sciences and Humanities

Music is a form of art that entertains people and also it has the ability to change the cultural aspects of society. Music often allows people to express all possible emotions that people experience in their lives. Sometimes music helps to express creativity, thoughts and feelings. Music has the power to bring people together in different ways and music helps people in different mental conditions. Music is a social phenomenon that is present everywhere and it is a medium that has the ability to shape society and cultures. Music has its own cultural values and it shapes society in different ways. This research attempts to point out the influence of music on modern culture and society and the main objevtive of the research is to identify the connection between cultures of society and music. This research follows the “qualitative data collection and analysis” method to know the major impacts of music on society and cultures. This research will also focus on the different factors of the...