Paper short abstract:

Egypt's local committee movement embodies unique patterns of urban activism, with diverse ideological framings and contrasting strategies of engagement with power-holders following January 25th uprising. Committees opened space for new practices of citizenship at the local level.

Paper long abstract:

Egypt's local popular committees spontaneously emerged in response to governance vacuums in urban spaces following the January 25th uprising. Hailed as potential "spaces of possibility," committees were viewed as enabling citizens to not just transgress positions as passive recipients and assert their rights but even to engage in contestations over 'governmentality' (Ibrahim and Singerman 2014; Sayigh 2012). Yet little comparative empirical work has been done on the actual patterns and evolution of this unique form of activism, or on its transformative impacts. What are the characteristics of popular committees as a form of activism? Specifically, what are their internal structures and claims to legitimacy? And, how far has this form of civic activism served to fundamentally challenge neoliberal development practices and power hierarchies in the city?

Based on original fieldwork conducted in 2013-2014, I take stock of Egypt's committee movement. My comparative analysis of three neighborhoods in Greater Cairo (Ard El Lewa, Imbaba and Omraneya) shows that committees diverged in their ideological framings, internal structures, as well as relations with political actors and civil society groups. Their links to the market, as well as their adopted collective forms of action vis a vis state authorities seemed to differ depending on their ideological framework, and access to media. While my focus group discussions with residents reflected widespread ambivalence on the future role of neighborhood committees, I demonstrate that committees planted the seeds for restructuring state power at the local level in the post-Mubarak era by redefining citizenship practices on the ground.