Introduction

Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Co m ments

Egypt’s Revolutionary Youth WP From Street Politics to Party Politics

Nadine Abdalla S

The youth movement that led Egypt’s 25 January 2011 revolution is far from being demobilized today. It is currently undergoing an institutionalization process as several new political parties representing the youth are being founded. Indeed, political em- powerment and inclusion of the youth in the democratic process are important for the success of the current transitional process. No less important would be for them to find a balance between street politics and conventional politics. Only then could the youth present a viable political force that is strong enough to effectively participate in and influence the formal political process. The new youth-dominated parties, however, face an array of challenges. The internal cohesion of some is threatened by differences of political opinion. Structural weaknesses and lack of organizational capacities hinders the ability of others to perform effectively. Capacity-building, political education and leadership skills will be crucial for these parties to become effective players in Egypt’s transition.

A few days after President ’s Coalition of Revolutionary Youth resignation in 2011, the youth that had The first organization formed by the youth triggered and led the events of the January was the Coalition of Revolutionary Youth. 25 revolution coalesced into different kinds It comprised a broad range of parties and of political organizations. Those associated movements from diverse political orienta- with the religious movements joined the tions. The Coalition was composed of the Freedom and (affiliated with main activists who had organized the pro- the ) and the Nour tests that began on January 25. In the post- Party (for the Salafists). Others attempted to revolutionary period, it focused on street safeguard the aims of the revolution by politics to pressure the Supreme Council of joining new non-religious parties that were the Armed Forces into meeting the youth’s participating in the formal political pro- “revolutionary” demands, such as the dis- cess, or by becoming part of networks that missal of the Mubarak-appointed Prime continued to engage in street politics. Minister, Ahmed Shafiq. Mobilizing people and organizing demonstrations was their primary approach for nearly a year and a

Nadine Abdalla is a Ph.D. Fellow in the project “Elite change and new social mobilization in the Arab world” realized by the Stiftung SWP Comments 11 Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP). The project is funded by the German Foreign Office in the framework of the transformation March 2013 partnerships with the Arab World and the Robert Bosch Stiftung. It cooperates with the PhD grant program of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung.

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half. The Coalition helped several of its from more politically compromising posi- members to acquire political capital rele- tions. On the one hand, they were not vant for leadership in future political inclined to be convinced by less idealistic organizations. Nevertheless, its exclusive positions in order to achieve political gains. focus on street politics was a missed oppor- On the other hand, their leaders were un- tunity in terms of building the social base able to communicate the political com- necessary to fare well in elections. On 7 July promises they had to make in order to 2012, the Coalition was officially dissolved, generate support. given that the transitional period was con- sidered to be coming to an end with the election of President in New parties of the older generation late June 2012. A large number of its lead- The youth who did not join these “youth ers acknowledged that the time had come parties” entered other political parties to participate in the formal political established in the post-revolutionary process. period, such as El-Masryin El-Ahrar (socially and economically liberal), El-Hizb El-Masry El-Dimoqrati (social democrat), El-Tahalof The youth’s new political parties El-Shaa’by (leftist). In the January 2012 elec- The second kind of organization in which tions, those parties performed better than the youth have been regrouped is politi- the youth parties, but they still remained cal youth parties such as El-Adl (centrist), far behind the Muslim Brotherhood and El-Tayar El-Masry (post-Islamist), Masr the Salafists, achieving 13, 16, and 7 seats, El-Horeya and El-Waa’y (both socially and respectively (out of a total of 508 seats). economically liberal). The youth form the However, in all three parties, albeit to dif- majority of the membership base for all ferent degrees, generational conflicts quick- of them. However, they fared poorly in the ly came to the fore – the youth complained January 2012 parliamentary elections about being shut out of decision-making (El-Adl and Masr El-Horeya won only one processes and opposed the positions of the seat each). Unlike the Muslim Brotherhood, older generations. In consequence, a large whose history stretches back 80 years and number of youths either defected from which commands a strong social base, these parties or withdrew into inactivity. those newly established parties were unable The difficulties witnessed during the to build sufficient grassroots in order to transitional process as well as the experi- mobilize electoral support. Lack of organi- ence during the 2012 parliamentary elec- zational experience, of resources, of promi- tions prompted many youth to make nent leaders who could attract donations, revisions as they realized that electoral and an age composition that restricted success depended on at least three factors: their appeal to older generations, were 1) a stronger emphasis on the formal politi- among the structural shortcomings that cal process in addition to street politics, prevented them from performing effective- which requires the construction of struc- ly and reaching out to a broader segment turally strong political parties that can of society. In addition, the cohesion of these perform more effectively; 2) gathering all parties was threatened – albeit in different revolutionary forces and uniting smaller degrees – by a lack of internal discipline, entities through coalition-building, namely and by the inexperience of their leaders because one of the reasons for the failure in the management of internal struggles. of non-Islamist parties in the parliamentary This was especially the case with the El-Adl elections had been the lack of coordination party, in which the revolutionary, idealistic among them; 3) forming multi-generational youth who formed the base were unable to parties that are representative of a larger submit to hierarchical decisions derived segment of society.

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After the June 2012 presidential elec- The second wave of youth parties tions, the third- and fourth-place contend- The Constitution Party: The main moti- ers Hamdeen Sabahy (leader of the Nasserist vation to establish the Constitution Party Karama Party) and Abdel Moneim Abul was to regroup all the revolutionary youth Futuh (a dissident former leader of the forces under one umbrella. The party Muslim Brotherhood who is popular among claims to be a social liberal or social demo- the rebellious youth of the organization), cratic party. Its political program is based formed the Popular Current (El-Tayar on three main stances clarifying its socio- El-Sha’aby) and the Strong Egypt (Masr political and socio-economic agenda: El-Kaweya) parties. Mohamed El-Baradei, 1) Rebalancing the relations between the the former Secretary-General of the Inter- state and the citizens: This balance should national Atomic Energy Agency who had occur by guaranteeing the separation withdrawn his presidential candidacy in between the state and the government, and January 2012, established the Constitution therefore the neutrality of the state’s Party (Dustour) Party. Both the Constitution institutions. Guaranteeing public and Party and the Popular Current are members individual freedoms are considered equally of the National Salvation Front (NSF), a important. 2) Rebuilding Egyptian culture coalition assembling the majority of the in a way that guarantees the acceptance of oppositional leftist and liberal parties and others and promotes a culture of diversity: movements. It was established in reaction This should be implemented through to the constitutional declaration issued by education and by guaranteeing the right to President Morsi on 22 November 2012, creativity and expression, reflecting the with the main purpose of uniting the oppo- socially liberal orientation of the party. sition’s activities. 3) Establishing an economic order that Still, some of the weaknesses identified guarantees a minimum of social justice, earlier also exist in the new parties and with progressive taxation to be used as a movements. Although all of them are com- major tool for achieving this objective. mitted to non-violent protest, achieving a In contrast to the first wave of political balance between conventional politics and parties that emerged after the revolution, street politics remains a major challenge. the Constitution Party has the potential to To date, a decision has not been taken on mobilize considerable political, social, and whether to work from within the formal moral capital. In particular, the leadership system or to remain outside. The NSF’s of Mohamed El-Baradei, considered by February 2013 decision to boycott the par- many youths to be the “godfather” of the liamentary elections – in protest against revolution, has attracted many defectors the refusal of the current rulers to amend from the parties that were established the constitution, guarantee the full in- during the first post-revolutionary phase dependence of the judiciary, and form a and led them to join the Constitution Party. new government that is more representa- The dynamism of these youths provides tive than the current one – is a case in the party with a considerable potential for point here. The elections were originally building grassroots and has already proved scheduled for April 2013 but postponed effective during the demonstrations against by a ruling of the Administrative Court in the November 2012 constitutional declara- early March 2013 because of procedural tion. The party also regroups many public questions. A new date has not been set as of figures that possess political capital, such yet. Moreover, the three political organiza- as Hossam Eissa, a well-known law profes- tions face several structural and program- sor who chairs its executive committee. matic challenges that are preventing them, This presence of political figures drawn for the time being, from fully reaching out from different generations helps to attract to society. media attention and guarantees continuous

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visibility. Finally, the party has the signifi- the state’s system of subsidies; 3) independ- cant advantage of a pre-existing infrastruc- ence of Egyptian foreign policy from the in- ture represented by “The Campaign for fluence of hegemonic powers, in a way that Supporting El-Baradei and the Demands for enables Egypt to reclaim its regional role. Change” movement, which was formed in Although guarantees for personal liber- early 2011 with significant participation ties are mentioned in the program, this by formerly non-politicized youth around subject does not figure prominently in the Mohamed El-Baradei, whom many saw as a party’s agenda. While the Constitution credible alternative to the Mubarak regime. Party explicitly named the lack of protec- This movement already has many offices tion of individual liberties as one of the spread out across and other gover- reasons why it campaigned to vote against norates. These resources facilitated the the new constitution in the December 2012 official establishment of the party in Sep- referendum, Strong Egypt omitted any such tember 2012 with around 20,000 founding reference, mobilizing instead against the members. Up to now, the door to general prerogatives that the constitution accords membership has not yet been opened, and to the armed forces through the National the party is still in the first phase of its Security Council. Opposing any interfer- founding. ence by the military in the political sphere is a clear stance for Strong Egypt. Moreover, The Strong : This party, officially the party has refused to position itself with- founded in November 2012, is an institu- in the current polarized political scene and tionalization of sorts of Abul Futuh’s elec- has refrained from taking sides with the toral campaign. It has 8,500 founding liberal/leftist opposition against the ruling members, mostly coming from members of power, represented by the Muslim Brothers the campaign. As in the case of the Consti- and the Freedom and Justice Party. There- tution Party, the door for general member- fore, an alliance between the party and ship has not yet been opened. Founding liberal/leftist forces that are clearly opposed members comprise ex-members of the Mus- to the current rule, such as the Constitu- lim Brotherhood who left the organization tion Party and the Popular Current, is not in response to its lack of internal democra- likely to occur. In fact, Strong Egypt has cy and lack of possibilities for participation, consistently refused to join the NSF. as well as revolutionary youth who partici- The party employs an innovative, bot- pated in Abul Futuh’s campaign and see tom-up approach for building grassroots him as representing the objectives of the support through the construction of organi- revolution. zations that represent the main sectors of Strong Egypt positions itself as a party society, linking them to the party in a that adheres to the center left and the decentralized way. Two main bodies have moderate Islamic stance. Moderate Islam is already been formed to that end: the Egyp- considered an essential component of the tian women’s organization devoted to Egyptian identity – respecting the later reaching women and empowering them, forms the party’s main philosophical foun- and the Strong Egypt student movement dation. Therefore, the party commits to devoted to reaching university students. the principles and broader aims of Islamic This structure is part of the strategy of the Sharia. Three main positions distinguish party to form youth leaders that are able to the party’s orientation: 1) guaranteeing run in student union elections as well as a participatory democracy through a in local elections (which have not been stronger decentralization of power; 2) so- scheduled yet). Similarly, the party is plan- cial justice and inclusiveness through mea- ning to establish other organizations for sures of wealth redistribution such as a middle-class professionals (such as teachers, minimum wage and the restructuring of engineers, and doctors) and workers. These

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organizations should help the party achieve as the “Youth for Freedom and Justice” success in elections within professional movement and the Social Democratic Party. unions and syndicates. The executive bureau is considered to be the central administrative body of the The Popular Current: This movement was movement and supposed to run all manage- established by third-place presidential can- ment and coordination tasks. Second, there didate Hamdeen Sabahy at a conference in is the council of trustees, which was formed downtown Abdin Square in September by 60 to 70 members who are mainly ex- 2012. During the inauguration of the move- perts in different fields, many of whom had ment, Sabahy announced that it will work already contributed to Sabahy’s electoral with the people on the ground in the fields platform. The council is an advisory body of development, economy, culture, and tasked with offering advice about specific sports, unlike a traditional political party. dossiers when needed. Adopting flexible structures should facili- tate its spread by using a more decentral- ized way of building grassroots in cities and Main challenges and obstacles villages. The movement is open to leaders Continuous political instability has made and members of other parties that were it difficult for all the new parties to build encouraged to join and support it, while structures. Frequently, members have been remaining organized in their parties. busier coordinating protest activities and The movement is conceived as an institu- demonstrations than organizing the party tionalization of Sabahy’s presidential cam- internally. Given the lack of human and paign. The latter was formed essentially by financial resources, they have been unable nationalists, leftists, and revolutionary to manage both activities at the same time. youth who believed in his discourse, which Also, all of the new parties that have been is centered on social justice. The main posi- absorbing the revolutionary youth are tions of the movement are a direct carry- facing a number of structural and pro- over from the platform of Sabahy’s presi- grammatic challenges, although to dif- dential campaign: guaranteeing individual ferent degrees. and political liberties through the consoli- dation of a genuinely democratic system; achieving social justice through the setting Lack of sustainable funding of a maximum and minimum wage for Scarcity of funds has especially harmed the workers in the public sector; and, similarly performance of both the Constitution Party to the and reflecting its and the Popular Current and has limited leftist/nationalist orientation, the movement their capacity to spread out geographically argues against interferences by hegemonic as well. Both formations have yet to develop powers and for an independent foreign a fundraising strategy that would allow policy to reclaim Egypt’s regional position. them to finance their activities in a sustain- Whether the campaign should be trans- able way. The presence of prominent public formed into a party or a movement was an figures helps the Constitution Party to at- issue of discussion between its leaders, who tract funds and funders. This funding is, ultimately preferred the movement option. however, still erratic and dependent on It is constituted by two bodies. First, there is political seasons and events. During the the executive bureau, which was formed by founding phase, some funds were offered 17 leaders, all of them youths, as an explicit by supportive liberal businessmen, and way to empower them. Some of these donations by sympathizers were used to youth leaders had been leading activists in pay for the tents during the sit-ins against Sabahy’s campaign; the others are leaders the constitutional declaration. However, in other leftist movements or parties such the absence of reliable sources for funds

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that would cover, at least, the fixed costs norates is weak in both the Constitution of the party – such as office rents and the Party and the Popular Current. By opening salaries of the administrative staff – has a new offices in Cairo and many of the north- negative impact on the political perfor- ern governorates on their own initiative, mance, since the leaders are preoccupied the highly mobilized youth of the Constitu- with administrative tasks and unable to tion Party has created a decentralized struc- focus on the political ones. The same ture that further challenges the party’s applies to the Popular Current and pre- already limited coordination mechanisms. vents it from following through on its main Finding a proper balance between decen- approach that is, gaining support through tralization and internal cohesion through developmental work with people on the structured patterns of communication is ground. Since its establishment, the Popu- direly required. In addition, these structur- lar Current’s main focus has turned to al weaknesses render the integration of political activities and street protests, above other opposition parties into the frame- all, thereby reducing the Popular Current work of the Constitution Party impossible, to a protest movement. at least in the short and medium term. To Furthermore, the lack of funds prevents realize its declared objective of becoming both organizations from establishing new an umbrella for the revolutionary forces, offices, especially in the south of Egypt. The the party will have to get a grip on its Constitution Party has currently around internal structures first. 30 offices, and whereas a number of the This problem is even more pronounced party’s founders in northern Egypt inaugu- in the case of the Popular Current. Al- rated new offices on their own initiative though decentralized activities were very and paid the costs out of their own pockets, much encouraged by the Sabahy campaign, those in the south cannot afford this. Ac- no effective structure of communication cording to the party’s youth leaders, estab- was established. The transformation of the lishing an office in a certain area is crucial campaign into a flexible movement struc- for building the party’s support in that ture even amplified the organizational weak- area. Given the limited funding, the party nesses and lack of cohesion. In contrast, the has not yet been able to create offices out- Abul Futuh campaign was characterized by side the main cities. efficient organization structures, owing, at Geographical penetration also remains a least partially, to the experience that many challenge for the Strong Egypt party, whose of its members had gained in the Muslim 30 to 35 offices are centered in cities, with a Brotherhood. The Strong Egypt party there- higher density in the north. Contrary to the fore has the opportunity of having an infra- Muslim Brothers and Salafists, who have structure to build upon. A higher degree managed to gain support in villages, all the of internal coordination and cohesion is newly established parties are mostly pres- apparent – as compared with the other two ent in the cities and have still not managed parties – and makes the party appear a to reach the countryside. The referendum sustainable alternative in the long term. on the constitution, in which the opposi- tion obtained significantly less support in the south than in Cairo and northern Generational rifts and Egypt, was a good indicator of this lack of obstacles for participation penetration. This problem is especially obvious in the case of the Constitution Party. On the one hand, the party suffers from a lack of hori- Structural weaknesses zontal coordination between its commit- Coordination between headquarters in tees and a lack of vertical coordination Cairo and party chapters in the gover- between those committees and the deci-

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sion-making body inside the party, repre- Internal struggles and currents sented by its president and the executive Strong Egypt in particular has been strug- committee. The lack of structured commu- gling with internal differences caused by nication and mechanisms for participation the presence of two distinct currents within has led to generational conflicts between the party. The first current is constituted older leaders at the top and the youth in by the revolutionary youth, who have politi- the ranks. Rather than enriching the party, cally progressive views and clearly oppose generational pluralism is thus threatening the current rulers. The other current is to become a liability that is harming its politically more conservative and therefore cohesion. In early January 2013, a consider- less willing to take positions against the able number of youth members staged a sit- current rule. This second current can be in inside the main party office in Cairo to differentiated into three categories: former request changes in the party leadership. members of the Muslim Brotherhood who Holding early elections for youth leaders in still have social ties to the organization and local party chapters, thereby guaranteeing are inclined to adopt its positions; those a higher degree of youth participation at who were never part of the Brotherhood the base of the party structure was another but who have familial or social ties with the major demand. organization; and, finally, people who just On the other hand, the revolutionary prefer to adopt politically conservative posi- and sometimes individualistic attitudes of tions in the hope that they lead to more some of the youth have contributed to this stability in the country. These differences rift. They still refuse to accept adherence to endanger the cohesion of the party, some- formal structures and hierarchical decision- thing that became obvious in the crisis over making. Political education of the youth the constitutional declaration and the con- would help to establish a balance between stitutional referendum. Two-thirds of the internal democracy and discipline within party rejected the constitution, causing new parties. It would also help to form fu- weeks of infighting and several defections. ture youth leaders with progressive and Achieving that percentage was the result of realistic political views rather than merely the youth leaders’ huge efforts at persua- revolutionary and sometimes utopian visions. sion among party members in Cairo and In contrast, there are no visible signs of a the governorates. Their main arguments generational rift within Strong Egypt. This were that this constitution would not is due to the party’s more solid organiza- guarantee social and economic rights and tional structures, which guarantee the pres- would institutionalize the army’s interfer- ence of internal mechanisms for participa- ence in politics. tion. This is done, for example, by holding Certainly, the party’s good organization- workshops for the party’s members in al- al mechanisms and structure of internal most all the governorates to listen and democracy has helped to decrease internal interact before taking major decisions. This tensions. However, the party needs to work was the case before the party announced its out a strategy for a political education pro- decision in early March 2013 to participate gram for its members. Such a program will in the next parliamentary elections. Fur- help them to reformulate their ideas and thermore, the absence of political figures express clearer visions – and to form a more from the older generation – other than coherent membership. Abul Futuh – facilitated the presentation of The problem of opposing political and youth in leadership positions. They are thus ideological orientations is liable to occur present in large numbers in all decision- within the Popular Current as well. Since making bodies, such as the party’s political the movement accepts members of other bureau. political parties and movements, conflicts regarding loyalties are certain to arise once

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that party adopts a line or positions that Conclusion and recommendations the Popular Current opposes. In the long The dynamism of highly mobilized youth term, this problem may harm the sustain- offers an opportunity for the creation of ability of the movement. Moreover, double new leadership and alternatives to Egypt’s membership makes it difficult to estimate old parties and movements. However, in the real strength of the movement, because order to consolidate themselves, the new there is no definite way to assess where youth-dominated political parties need to primary loyalties lie. develop their internal structures and their cadres alike. European policy-makers and civil society institutions can facilitate this The challenge of age composition task through several measures. The lack of middle-age cadres is in itself a Technical knowledge and capacity- challenge. For one, this compromises the building: European civil society organiza- organizations’ capacities to field a suffi- tions should offer Egyptian youth leaders

© Stiftung Wissenschaft und cient amount of candidates in parliamen- technical knowledge regarding the struc- Politik, 2013 tary elections who have viable chances to turing and management of democratic All rights reserved win seats, which requires a certain amount parties. Organizational skills are urgently

These Comments reflect of social capital and experience. To remedy needed to build efficient structures. Also, solely the author’s views. this problem, one of the strategies that the support related to the know-how of reach-

SWP Strong Egypt party might possibly adopt in ing out to society and building grassroots Stiftung Wissenschaft und the next parliamentary elections is the co- is of great importance. Training related to Politik German Institute for optation of public figures who share the the most-efficient way for holding election International and same stances as the party to compete in its campaigns is no less important. Security Affairs name. Political education and programmatic Ludwigkirchplatz 3­4 support: Training courses reserved for polit- 10719 Berlin ically educating youth leaders and forming Telephone +49 30 880 07-0 Finally, it is important to mention that Fax +49 30 880 07-100 if the decision of the Constitution Party political cadres with clear programmatic www.swp-berlin.org and the Popular Current to boycott the up- visions would be very helpful. In particular, [email protected] coming elections remains unchanged, it exchanges between political parties in ISSN 1861-1761 will influence the future shape of those Europe (as well as their European umbrella

These Comments are organizations. The Popular Current would organizations) and their Egyptian counter- published probably remain a protest movement that parts should be encouraged. as part of the project Elite Change and lacks leverage in terms of participation in Electoral environment: Egypt has asked New Social Mobilization formal politics. Boycotting the elections the EU to monitor its upcoming parliamen- in the Arab World. would be a missed opportunity for the Con- tary elections. Dialogue and consultation For more information see www.swp-berlin.org/en/ stitution Party, in particular in terms of with the Egyptian government, while the swp-projects/arab-elites-and- forming and developing the potential of its preparations for parliamentary elections social-mobilization.html youth to perform in future elections. The are ongoing, would be opportune. Above decision to participate in local elections all, such talks should encourage the or not will determine whether the party Egyptian leadership to initiate a dialogue moves further into formal politics, or with the opposition in order to generate moves toward becoming a protest move- a minimum of consensus concerning the ment. In contrast, Strong Egypt’s participa- democratic process. In a polarized society tion in the elections will help it to integrate such as in today’s Egypt, such a consensus itself further into the formal political pro- would be crucial for holding elections in a cess. Its use of street politics will therefore healthy environment. be subject to different calculations. Cer- tainly, this decision will help it to develop future candidates from the youth.

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