Representing the people in the street or in the ballot box? The revolutionary coalition campaign during the 2011 Egyptian elections

Abstract

The results of the 2011-12 Egyptian elections highlight the gap that exists between the "emotional" and the "rational" conceptions of the people and its representation. If the revolutionary moment had allowed some organizations to temporarily gain legitimacy to speak in the name of the people, these organizations have been ill-equipped to compete within the existing structure of the social cleavages. This article examines the electoral system, the lack of resources at the disposal of the revolutionaries, the polarization of the political field around the religious issue, and the difficulties involved in conciliating between the electoral campaign and street activism.

Bridging the gap: The ‘revolutionary’ strategy of the Strong Egypt Party as a new attempt towards overcoming the secular/Islamist cleavage

“…By not explicitly criticizing it, the SEP remains faithful to the line of Abūl-Futūh's 2012 campaign: refusing to choose between the Islamist and the secular, but firmly opposing any vestige of the old regime, such as the autonomy of the military, the use of torture, the presidential regime, and the lack of social justice. This anchors the SEP on the revolutionary side of the revolutionary/counter-revolutionary divide and echoes the "The Revolution Continues" manifesto of the 2011-2012 parliamentary elections (see Steuer 2021).…”

“…Thus, the division among Egyptian "centrist" parties can be explained mainly by their positioning regarding the generational divide (figure 2). This divide, opposing the "revolutionary youth" to the "remnants of the former regime," was very pregnant in the nascent Egyptian political scene of the years 2011-2012, where it represented the second structuring issue after the Islamist/secular cleavage (Steuer 2021). In this historical context, the word "revolutionary" referred mainly to the "revolutionary youth" (shabāb al-thawra), a social group which existed through grassroots organizations; among them the most important were the April 6 Movement and the Federation of the Revolutionary Youth.…”

“…Here, Egypt's case study is particularly interesting for understanding these trends due to the ability of its revolutionary youth to be represented in the political field (Steuer 2021), and the pluralization of its Islamist politics, where a "third way" split from the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as early as in 1996. Indeed, before 2011, this Egyptian "centrist" trend had particularly drawn the attention of scholars.…”

Quelle contre-révolution en Tunisie et en Égypte ? L’héritage du RCD et du PND dans les systèmes partisans et le secteur de l’économie informelle

“…Dans les deux pays, on constate par ailleurs qu'à partir de 2012, une commune opposition aux islamistes a permis aux ex-RCDistes et ex-PND de se rapprocher des libéraux, des socialistes et des révolutionnaires de 2011, et de récupérer ainsi une certaine légitimité. En Égypte, les élections de 2011-2012 ont vu les feloul se présenter sous les bannières de quasiment tous les partis et coalitions en lice 22 . Lors des élections de 2015 également, d'anciens membres du PND ont porté les couleurs de partis politiques aux positionnements différents, voire opposés.…”