Youth Activism and Contentious Politics in Egypt

Abstract

The Arab uprisings have demonstrated the importance of analyzing contentious politics in authoritarian regimes through new analytical tools. During the 1990s, Tarrow argued that research into the areas of democratization and social movements rarely intersected. 1 In trying to fill this gap, Donatella della Porta compared the democratization process in Eastern Europe with the events of the Arab Spring by examining "episodes of democratization through the lens of social movement studies." 2 Political developments and recent literature suggest that democratization is unlikely to develop in Arab countries that have experienced mass contention, with the notable exception of Tunisia. 3 This chapter establishes the theoretical framework for the study of contentious politics in authoritarian regimes.

Repression, Cooptation, and Movement Fragmentation in Authoritarian Regimes: Evidence from the Youth Movement in Egypt

“…As Frantz and Kendall-Taylor (2014) suggest, the decision to negotiate with the regime was essential in movement fragmentation. In this case, some members of movements and parties like the Muslim Brotherhood, 6 April Youth movement, and al-Adl political parties preferred to negotiate with SCAF and to hold the parliamentary elections, while others did not (Al Masry al-Youm, 2011; Sika, 2017).…”

“…This year was important for youth movements, as it was the year in which al-Aqsa intifada occurred in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. During this year, many young activists started to network and develop their protest activities, leading up to the 25 January uprising (El-Mahdi, 2009;Maha Abdelrahman, 2015; Shehata, 2010; Sika, 2017). Selection was also based on seven different criteria:…”

“…According to Amnesty International’s (2012) estimates, almost 50 people died and more than 3000 people were injured or imprisoned. However, while repression against youth activists was mounting, the party and movement leaders who attended the SCAF meeting did not criticize the regime, nor did they protest in Mohamed Mahmoud with their own party or movement rank and file (Sika, 2017). 6 This event was a milestone for movement fragmentation, where youth activists voiced their discontent with their leaders, and decided to split from their existing movement and/or party membership (Sika, 2017).…”

“…A large number of the Brotherhood’s members were also participants in and members of various protest movements during the decade preceding the 2011 uprising. This decade witnessed the enlargement of the youth movement, with different protest movements like the 6 April Youth Movement and the Kifaya having horizontal leaderships and being issue-based, rather than ideological-based (Abdelrahman, 2015; El-Mahdi, 2009; Shehata, 2012; Sika, 2017). Nevertheless, after the Mohamed Mahmoud protest event, in addition to the Brotherhood’s ascendance to power, a rift between secular and religious movements occurred.…”

“… 6. For more information on the splits occurring in Al-Adl political party, see for instance, Al Masry al-Youm, “‘azma fy hizb al-adl bessabab tawqee’ al-naggar ‘ala bayan al-askary” [A Crisis in al-Adl Political Party due to al-Naggar’s signing of the SCAF Statement] online at: http://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/115850; See also Nadine Sika (2017). …”