Beyond Revolutionary Politics: Avenues of Activism Under Elsisi’s Authoritarianism

Egypt’s 2011 revolution has been politically “defeated” by the counter-revolutionary forces, ElSisi regime’s ongoing onslaught on spaces of dissent and activism, and erasures of the revolution’s symbols and memories. Nevertheless, the revolution’s social legacies continue to unfold. Led and sustained by the generation that came of age during the revolution, new avenues of engagement have been on the rise. These spaces traverse urban, feminist and cultural activism, as well as community-based, educational, environmental and heritage preservation initiatives.

Through life history interviews (2020-2022), this paper demonstrates how former revolutionary participants have transferred their commitments beyond revolutionary politics into these new avenues. While these participants remain indebted to the revolution for transforming their subjectivities, relationships and career paths, they are skeptical about the efficacy of revolutionary tactics in effecting social change. Given their readings of the revolutionary defeat and the evolving informational and political ecology on a national, regional and global levels, they believe this moment in Egypt demands different actions. Over the past decade, they have acquired knowledge about North-South relations and the issues of funding and sustainability of civil society. This knowledge has grounded their engagements in local needs and Global South solidarities and overcoming the patterns of marginalization and disparities in resources and opportunities rife in Egypt. The paper traces former participants’ transfer into these avenues of engagement when revolutionary politics became not only impossible, but also unpopular and ineffective. It delineates these rising fields of activism, their boundaries and dynamics. It also explores how they have enabled former participants to reconfigure their activism and work to grapple with the economic, political and cultural stagnation under ElSisi draconian regime. It shows that despite the death of politics, there are pockets of hope that are keeping the revolutionary ethos alive.