Political Participation and Power Relations in Egypt: The Scope of Newspapers and Social Network Sites

Mostafa Shehata

doi:10.17645/mac.v5i2.898

Abstract

The political use of media in Egypt post-2011 revolution brought about drastic transformations in political activism and power structures. In the context of communication power theory, this article investigates the effects of newspapers and social network sites on political participation and political power relations. The research employed a mixed methodology, comprised of a survey of 527 Egyptian youth and semi-structured interviews of 12 political activists and journalists. The results showed a significant relationship between reading newspapers and youth’s political participation, but not between using social network sites and political participation. In addition, newspapers and social network sites were platforms for a series of conflicts and coalitions that emerged between pro- and anti-revolution actors. Despite the importance of social network sites as key tools for informing and mobilizing the public, they eventually failed to empower new political actors, and this was because old actors, supported by newspapers and other mainstream media, managed to obstruct the new actors’ progress.

Highlights

The authoritarian nature of Mubarak’s rule in Egypt substantially obstructed Egyptian youth’s political participation (PP) for decades
More than one-third (41.2%) achieved a high level of readership, about one-third (33.1%) had a moderate level, and about a quarter (25.7%) achieved a low level. These results indicate that Egyptian youth read newspapers in a relatively high rates; this can be ascribed to their high exposure to the Internet, as well as to the political polarization post-25J
This article investigated the effects of newspapers and social network sites (SNS) on the political participation of youth and the power relations of political actors in Egypt following the 2011 revolution

Summary

Introduction

The authoritarian nature of Mubarak’s rule in Egypt substantially obstructed Egyptian youth’s political participation (PP) for decades. In the last two parliamentary elections under his rule (held in 2005 and 2010), voter turnout did not exceed 23% and 15% respectively In the wake of the revolution, Egyptians started to actively participate in politics in different respects. Voter turnout in the 2011 referendum and parliamentary election comprised 41% and 60% respectively PP was once again obstructed when the army seized power after ousting the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) affiliated president Mohamed Morsi on July 3rd, 2013. This obstruction was characterized mainly by repression of the revolution’s advocates, in return for reinforcing its opponents This obstruction was characterized mainly by repression of the revolution’s advocates, in return for reinforcing its opponents (Khalifa, 2015, p. 216)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion