Author and Columnist - Alaa al-Aswany

Whatever happened to the Egyptian revolution? Those heady days of people power in Tahrir square now seem like a collective delusion. A military strong man is back in power, President Mubarak has been handed a get out of jail for free card and dissent is being repressed with an iron fist. Hardtalk speaks to Alaa al-Aswany, the bestselling Egyptian novelist, political commentator and sometime dentist. Is Egypt's story a harsh lesson in the dangers of wishful thinking?

(Photo: Egyptian novelist Alaa al-Aswany poses in Paris, 2014 . Credit: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)