Coalitions for change in Egypt: Bridging ideological and generational divides in the revolution

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Egyptian Movement for Change (Kifâya) was created in 2004 to raise ‘democratic’ demands voiced by a wide range of political actors: Islamists, radical leftists or liberals, as well as ‘independents’. Using a repertoire based on street demonstrations this movement centred its action on the issue of political change in Mubarak’s Egypt in the late 2000s. Focusing on the emergence and trajectory of this movement, this article discusses the following questions: How did different political actors get together and sustain collective action, despite their ideological divergences and distinct generational belongings? How has the presence of young activists within these movements challenged the elder generations’ political action before the revolution? How has the revolutionary event of 2011 blurred the line between the political generations? The article argues that generational differences were salient before 2011 and were reflected in different understandings of change. By contrast, the fall of Mubarak redefined these divisions along ideological orientations rather than generational lines. Two perspectives inform the issue of political change inside this coalition. Firstly, the contribution focuses on political change among cross-ideological networks and groups of politicians. Secondly, it underlines the definition of political change from the perspective of different generations of activists.