Civil society and democratic transformation in contemporary Egypt: Premises and promises

This is an interdisciplinary research focusing on the role of civil society organizations in the democratization process in Egypt. In this endeavor, democratization is seen as a continuum encompassing dynamics of transformation from authoritarianism to full-fledged democracy. Egypt has been facing a number of sociopolitical problems: Poor institutional performance, political corruption, poverty and unemployment are some of the pressing issues. Under the current political arrangements, democratization of public decision-making appears a necessity rather than a privilege of modernity. Aside from the basic human rights that can only be maintained under democracy, democratization allows the Egyptian to own to their social problems, including improvements in living standards, and to collectively act to address them.;In the past twenty-five years, there have been some positive political developments, among which are the relative improvements in civil liberties and the introduction of presidential election for the first time in the history of Egypt in 2005. The latest was the political events which occurred in January-February 2011 that came to be known as the January 25th Revolution, which led to the fall of Mubarak's regime and put the country on the path for democratic transformation. Scholars have varying views as to whether the political developments that occurred during Mubarak's rule represent tactical liberalization controlled from the top or genuine democratization efforts. The purpose of this study, however, is not to reconcile such differences. It is rather to identify sociopolitical forces that drive these changes, and more specifically to explore roles played by eight civil society organizations in bringing about these political developments.;This qualitative research engages in theoretical debates about civil society and democratic transformation. In examining democratization theoretical approaches, the study focuses on three interrelated case studies from three types of civil society organizations. The samples include four advocacy groups (three loosely structured civic movements and one human rights organization operating as an NGO), three professional associations (judges, lawyers and journalists), and the Federation of Egyptian Workers, an umbrella group of trade unions in Egypt. These organizations are selected because they are directly involved in political advocacy.;Loosely structured civic movements, Kifaya Movement, April 6, Movement, and The National Association for Change, are found to be particularly effective in revitalizing associational life, articulating public demands, creating venues for public participation, acting as sites of resistance and calling for and maintaining protests. Civic movements are also found to be successful in mobilizing people in general. Cairo Institute for Human Right Studies, the only NGO included in the sample, was to have limited role in political mobilization beyond exposing human rights violations. Despite their limited mobilization abilities, professional associations transformed public protests from spontaneity into organized political actions such as civil disobedience. While the Federation of Egyptian Workers was paralyzed as a result of cooptation through oppression and bribery systems, the individual trade unions played significant roles in initiating and carrying out civil disobedience concurrently with popular protests. Overall findings of this study suggest that civil society organizations can be a true democratizing element in society, which can significantly, but carefully, be reflected in strategies for democratization movement.