The Contentious Roots of the Egyptian Revolution

Abstract

Although real socio-economic injustices may have been the justification for the Egyptian revolution of 2011, it was not the cause of Egypt's politicization. Demonstrators peacefully toppled a strong Western ally on the premise of high unemployment, lack of opportunity, lack of free elections, food inflation, corruption, and lack of democracy, among other factors. Why did social mobilization lead to a social movement against a state that is highly dependent on coercion? Considering that access to social networks, high unemployment, systematic corruption, and economic stagnation are all commonplace throughout the world, the Egyptian revolution is an anomaly. This article argues that an analysis of the possible roots of the modern era of contentious politics in Egypt and its subsequent politicization will help demystify and decipher how this anomaly occurred. Focusing on the transnationally inspired dynamics of historically unprecedented protest events in relation to Egypt's political and social context will shed light upon the central question that this article aims analyze: how and when did politics make the shift from internal social relations to contentious street politics?

Keywords:

• Egyptian revolution
• contentious politics
• social movements
• hegemony
• Sidney Tarrow
• Charles Tilly

Acknowledgements

All research for this article was conducted within the Department of Political Science at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Additional information

Sammy Badran is a graduate student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Kansas. He recently received his MA from the Department of Political Science at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. His current research interests include contentious politics within authoritarian nation-states, social movement theories, organizational strategies, cyber-activism, mass behavior, and Middle Eastern politics. He is especially interested in contentious politics and social movement theories in relation to the Egyptian revolution of 2011.