The Challenges to Democratization in the Global South: The Political Economy of Regime Change, Class Struggles, and Class Alliances in Egypt (1952-2016) and Brazil (1930-2016) Lara Khattab Concordia University A Thesis In The Department of Political Science Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy (Political Science) at Concordia University Montréal, Quebec, Canada December 2019 © Lara Khattab, 2019 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Lara Khattab Entitled: The Challenges to Democratization in the Global South: The Political Economy of Regime Change, Class Struggles, and Class Alliances in Egypt (1952-2016) and Brazil (1930-2016) and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor Of Philosophy (Political Science) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: Chair Dr. Nora Jaffary External Examiner Dr. Samer Abboud External to Program Dr. Norma Rantisi Examiner Dr. Tina Hilgers Examiner Dr. Ceren Belge Thesis Supervisor Dr. J.F. Mayer Approved by Dr. James Kelly, Graduate Program Director January 10, 2020 Dr. André Roy, Dean Faculty of Arts and Science ABSTRACT The Challenges to Democratization in the Global South:The Political Economy of Regime Change, Class Struggles, and Class Alliances in Egypt (1952-2016) and Brazil (1930-2016) Lara Khattab, Phd Concordia University, 2019 This research adopts a cross-regional comparative historical and a political economy approach to democratization processes in the Global South. It explains why in Egypt (1952-2016) and Brazil (1930-2016) where calls for democratization and regime change were preceded by classstruggles and an impressive wave of working-class activismthe, Brazilian working class broke free from corporatism and built a broad and strong alliancewith other struggling social classes while the Egyptian working class was not able to fulfill this objective.While Brazil transitioned to a democracy until 2016, Egypt experienced the rise of the military to power since 2013. These different outcomes are explained by embedding the questions of working class organizing and the absence or presence of broad inter-class alliances in the will of the authoritarian leaders to leave power or to entrench authoritarian rule, as well as the will of the military in particular to tolerate or repress opposition. The dissertation assesses this question of military tolerance of opposition or lack thereof, by looking at the institutional, foreign policy and economic interests of the military. The analysis puts the focus on the way such interests evolved under authoritarianism and the way the military was constituted and shaped by capitalism and hence itsby relationship with the owners of capital and labor. The research contributes to the comparative democratization literature by pursuing a multi-disciplinary approach that combines theoretical insights from comparative politics, political economy, critical history and geography as well as the regional Latin American and Middle Eastern literature. It also expands the geographical scope of the academic conversation by examining the challenges of democratization in post-colonial societies and by incorporating cases from the Arab world that had been hitherto unexamined by the democratization and regime change literature. The research combines historical, archival research with qualitative research methods including interviewing and fieldwork. Fieldwork in the two countries extended over a period of 8 months between December 2015 and December 2016. Throughout this period of time, I have conducted 43 interviews with activists in the anti-corporatist labor movement, and social movements activists as well as experts who examined similar themes. iii Acknowledgements As I write the first words of this dissertation, a wave of mass mobilization had already hit my home country. Lebanon, which has been known for being divided along sectarian lines, has finally united over the struggles for social justice and human dignity. The crisis in Lebanon is not a crisis of a sectarian regime alone; it is a crisis of a rentier and neoliberal economy that had been sustained by a sectarian regime. The class struggle talk of a dispossessed majority facing an oligarchy of sectarian leaders who control political and economic life is what echoes the most in the streets today. While Lebanon’s future is still unknown, this dissertation reflects on these themes in Brazil and Egypt that had equally experienced class struggles under authoritarian regimes. While my research emphasizes that context matters, the lessons drawn from this dissertation will help us to reflect on the challenges that Lebanese and other citizens around the globe are facing today as they struggle for human dignity and democracy. The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the help, and support of a large number of people. First, I would like to thank my advisor and my committee members. Professor Jean-François Mayer, my advisor, constantly provided encouragement, guidance and all forms of support. Professor Mayer patiently read and commented on several drafts of this dissertation while challenging the way I thought about my dissertation and helping me improve it. Professor Ceren Belge and Professor Tina Hilgers helped me hone my critical perspectives and provided continuous support, guidance and encouragement. Professor Hilgers generously granted me a bursary to pursue my fieldwork in Brazil and Professor Mayer granted me Taships while in Brazil and Egypt. Concordia’s Graduate Student Mobility award and the Political Science Department at Concorida generously supported my fieldwork in the two countries. Our program assistants: Julie Blumer, Tanya Volpe, Pat MacFarlane, Joanne Downs and Kathryn Rawlings, have all greeted me with a big smile and positive vibes and were always there to provide support when needed. I would also like to specially thank Stephen Cabilio from Concordia Univerity’s Psychology department who helped me set up a safe space on the Concordia university server to store my data. The Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University gave me the great opportunity ot teach at the Institute while finishing my dissertation. Professors Michelle Hartmann, Khalid Medani, Malik Abi Saab and Rula Abi Saab have been generously supportive and encouraging and shared beautiful conversations on the challenges in the Middle East, Africa and Lebanon. In Montréal, my path crossed amazing friends. Oula Hajjar, Mostafa Henaway, Asma Al Nasser, Munir Katul, Samah Mansour, Ali al Dirani, Yasmeen Daher, Layal Shuman, Hassan Abu Jergi, Souha Bawab, Raja Hamady and Dania el Khechen have all made me feel at home, shared their love and many beautiful memories, and conversations over so many meals and drinks. I am very grateful for your love, your support, and your presence whether in Montreal or Toronto. Isabelle Fortier and Caroline Charbonneau have been the amazing roommates that anyone can ask for and have received me in their beautiful place with open hearts and minds. Jessica Stilwell did magic while copyediting each chapter of this dissertation as well as the entire dissertation. In Egypt, I met people that made Egypt a memorable experience despite the difficulties of conducting fieldwork there. Nancy Yacoub, Mohammed Rizkallah, Mostafa Seyam, Nada Sabet, Enrico de Angelis, and Farah Sabra made the experience of living in Egypt one of the most enjoyable experiences. Dina Al Samak, Hoda Kamel, Ghoussoun Tawfik and the staff at the Egyptian Center for Social and Economic Rights in Cairo and Alexandria provided me with all the support while conducting my fieldwork. Hoda Kamel was an amazing mentor in Egypt during the most difficult times of doing research there. In iv Brazil, Alexandre Loureiro, Alvaro Pereira, Rodrigo Rodrigues de Silva, Sheila Ribeiro, and Maggie Shum were amazing friends and roommates, welcoming me and sharing great moments. Professor Salvador Sandoval generously hosted me in the PUC-SP and Leonardo Ostronoff, Sirlei De Oliveira, Pedro Neto, Rodrigo Linhares, and Eliana Martins Pereira from DIEESE gave me invaluable support for my research connecting me to the world and providing access to their data and ressources. Special thanks to every single person who accepted to participate in this study, who gave their time during the interviews and as I conducted my fieldwork. Without their willingness to share their experiences, workthis would not have been possible. In Beirut, I would like to thank Fida Moukaled and Layla El Mahmoud Murad for their love and for giving me access to the AUB library and its ressources. Farah el Zarkout, Omar Gamal, Ali Kain and Myriam Mehanna who received me back home when I had to leave Cairo with their love and support, and Rabih Barakat provided generous support while putting me in contact with Assafir newspapers’ archives. Bassel Salloukh was a constant source of support, encouragement and inspiration for this project. This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of my parents, Hania El Mahmoud Khattab and Walid Khattab. Their love, constant psychological andall forms of support and their faith in me helped me keep going during the most difficult times. This dissertation would definitely not have been completed without their love and the constant feeling of empowerement that they fueled me with. I am thankful to have feminist and activist parents whose struggles have inspired me to stay strong, and committed to the struggles I believe in. I am forever grateful for all that they gave and continue to give to this day. Rania Khattab, my sister and my brother-in-law, Aidemir Cheroukh, have always been present, cheerleading for me and encouraging me, and trying to solve all of my problems. They received me with open arms as I first landed in Montreal in 2011. Their kindness, their love, their support, and their presence around the city were all very precious. Yenal Cheroukh, my nephew, has been the biggest joy in my life.