State–Society Relations in Egypt in the Age of Globalization (1980–2010)

Abstract

Prior to the 2011 Egyptian revolution, scholars would assess the state–society relations in Egypt in the age of globalization as ineffective, considering any change impossible. However, popular movements in the Middle East and the easy collapse of state indicated that the state–society relation was not passive. In an attempt to re-examine state–society relations, this research focuses on why and how the state–society relations in Egypt, which had been based on authoritarian hegemony, underwent rupture and crisis. Moreover, it tries to explain how the state has managed to deal with the transformation of civil society. The findings show that despite the state’s incomplete and reductionist approach to globalization, the decrease in the state control over economy, in public services and the increase in inequality crisis all have led to class divisions, unemployment, and inflation. The loss of the elements integral to state hegemony led to the emergence of discontented and insurgent political subjects, which made the state insist on its repressive, non-ideological, and undemocratic functions. Due to the weakness in reproducing its power in civil society and the failure to realize the change in the subject’s sensibility–behavior schemata, the state failed in the face of the immediate movement of people, and emerging sociopolitical forces overthrew the state with the help of new media facilities.

Keywords

• globalization
• state
• society
• egypt