Ahmed Tohamy - Youth Activism in Egypt: Islamism, Political Protest and Revolution

Ahmed Tohamy provides us with a much-needed exploration of Egyptian youth through the theoretical lens of (new) social movement theory. This important book tracks Egyptian youth activism through the modern era, locating the events since the overthrow of President Mubarak in 2011 within a longer historical trajectory, whilst offering insights into structures and processes of both continuity and change. At a time when youth is being uncritically fetishized as a social category in the Arab region, this kind of detailed and theoretically-informed study becomes all the more important.

Emma Murphy, Professor and Head of School, School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University

Youth Activism in Egypt offers lively perspectives on a significant issue that will shape the future of the Middle East region. Informative scholarship, an enjoyable read, and thought-provoking analysis much-needed for policy makers, yet accessible to non-specialists.

Emad El-Din Shahin, Visiting Professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

YOUTH
ACTIVISM IN
EGYPT

Islamism, Political Protest and Revolution

A HMED T OHAMY

Published in 2016 by
I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
London New York

www.ibtauris.com

Copyright 2016 Ahmed Tohamy

The right of Ahmed Tohamy to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.

References to websites were correct at the time of writing.

Library of Modern Middle East Studies 156

ISBN: 978 1 78076 921 9

eISBN: 978 0 85772 892 0

ePDF: 978 0 85772 809 8

A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available

I dedicate this book to my parents, wife and children

CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

Estimated Midyear Population by Age Groups (2011)

Estimated Midyear Population by Age Groups (200211)

Faade of a democratic structure and control over the opposition parties (19812010)

Socio-economic indicators (2010)

Status of income distribution, poverty and social investment (2005)

Global integrity report: Egypt (2008)

Parliamentary representation of political parties (19792010)

Dominant position of NDP in elections

Low turnout and exclusion of ordinary people (apathy) in elections

Turnout in urban and rural regions

Corruption perceptions index and international transparency (2008)

Student unions budgets in universities (20023)

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

INTRODUCTION

Egyptian politics since 1952 has been marked by cycles of mobilization and reform. However, these have become a great deal more intensive over the last decade, which has been marked by a recurrence of long waves of social and political protest. The period between 2000 and 2015 was the most astonishing, witnessing inspiring waves of mobilization the most profound seen since 1952, as various generations and social forces joined hands to bring about the historical change of 25 January 2011. Hosni Mubarak's regime faced an ultimately overwhelming challenge from the convergence of counter-hegemonic forces, social movements and new activism which launched a long campaign and framing process to delegitimize the regime and its policies. Over the period, the regime lost its hegemony over society, with even its own previously loyal networks and social bases withdrawing their support and becoming less willing to defend the old regime. Youth, labour, students, new political parties and Islamists united to challenge the regime and security forces before and during the revolution. All these agents of change acted together in harmony to organize and coordinate the mobilization under different umbrellas and coalitions. However, the dilemma of the Egyptian revolution is that nothing yet guarantees that a just social order is resulting from the upheavals.

It is extremely interesting to look at the trajectory of youth activism in the run up to the protests, actively dealing with a framework of political opportunities and constraints. This approach fits very well into arguments in political science about the nature of revolution and what exactly revolution is and what it does.

This book argues that a combination of youth, labour, students, political parties and Islamists acted together in order to overthrow Mubarak and his inner circle, which finally occurred on 25 January 2011. However, after the revolution, all was far from harmonious. The youth activists sought to demolish the rule of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), which was widely considered to be a continuation of the old regime. The Muslim Brotherhood's strategy tended to focus on participatory, election-based politics, while a large segment of youth activists chose a different strategy: protesting, lobbying, reliable journalism, civil rights activism and other such forms of political expression. Most young and secular activists accused the Muslim Brotherhood of colluding with the military to engineer a transitional timetable (prioritizing elections over writing a new constitution) that favoured the older, well-organized Brotherhood over newer political groups.