Commentary
Amr Hamzawy
{
"authors": [
"Amr Hamzawy"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
],
"collections": [
"Arab Awakening"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North Africa",
"Egypt"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform"
]
}
Source: Getty
In The Media
Egypt's Bread and Butter Issues
Unlike in previous periods of unrest in Egypt, when economic and political demands were separated, the ongoing protests integrate calls for bread and butter domestic issues with demands for democratic reform.
By Amr Hamzawy
Published on Jan 27, 2011
Source: The New York Times
First, the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia sparked the momentum. Many anticipated that ripples throughout the Arab world could fracture the authoritarian order in other countries in the region. Egyptians had been prompted to break through their fear of dissent.
Another distinguishing factor was the purely domestic nature of the demands that drove the protests. The repetitive and ambiguous denunciations of globalism, Zionism and U.S. policy in the Middle East were nowhere to be heard.
Similarly absent was the ideological context in which Egypt’s political and public space is typically framed.
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood participated, for example, but the religious tone was nonexistent. The Jasmine Revolution effectively turned Arabs’ priorities from the banal rhetoric and distractions on regional politics toward pressing socioeconomic issues effecting daily life. By shifting focus, the movement in Egypt attracted citizens not typically involved in politics.
Also, because of the virtual world of social networking, young people free of any political affiliation mobilized in an unprecedented and dynamic expression of their rights. Their demands were simple and their language clear: stop state corruption; we need jobs; end torture now.
The most critical of factor distinguishing these protests from any other, however, was the one that fundamentally changed the rules of the game for the regime. Previously, economic and political demands were separated. As of Tuesday, bread and butter are issues have been integrated with — even fueled — the calls for democratic reform. The ruling establishment will now find it difficult to return to the logic of separate and divide.
To avoid the prospect of chaos, it is crucial that the regime respond to Egyptians’ legitimate demands.
About the Author
Amr Hamzawy
Director, Middle East Program
Amr Hamzawy is a senior fellow and the director of the Carnegie Middle East Program. His research and writings focus on Egypt’s and other middle powers’ involvement in regional security in the Middle East, particularly through collective diplomacy and multilateral conflict resolution
- The Two Key Takeaways From Xi’s Egypt Visit
- The Drone Attack on Egypt and the Widening Middle East WarCommentary
Amr Hamzawy
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
- On AI, Cairo Plays China and the U.S. Off Against Each OtherCommentary
Huawei pushed hard to enter the Egyptian data centers market, until the Americans made a better offer.
Angie Omar
- Egypt’s Military Landlord Economy and its LimitationsPaper
The armed forces champion a form of capitalism that is generating revenue, but its reliance on rent faces diminishing returns, leaving the country with massive sunk costs and deferred returns, deepening dependency on external borrowing.
Yezid Sayigh
- The West’s Climate Colonialism in the Greater Middle EastCommentary
There is a disturbing structural parallel between the old global energy economy and the new green transition.
Angie Omar
- World Cup 2026: A Middle East and North Africa PrimerCommentary
This will be the region’s most representative tournament, amid broad changes in its footballing landscape.
Issam Kayssi
- Climate Pressures in Algeria: The Crisis in Rural KabylieArticle
Understanding how farmers in the Oued Sahel-Soummam Valley grapple with climate change is essential for addressing the paradoxes through which adaptation, operating at both individual and institutional levels, deepens the region’s vulnerability and erodes the social fabric and agrarian identity that once defined life.
Ilyssa Yahmi
