Introduction
The 2011 Egyptian Revolution, locally known as January 25 Revolution describes a widespread movement that happened after a popular uprising that started January 25, 2011 (Korotayev A., 2011; Siddique, Owen, & Gabbatt, 2011). The revolution was characterized by the demonstrations, plaza occupations, marches, riots, civil disobedience acts, non-violent civil resistance, and labor strikes. Millions of protesters of different backgrounds insisted of overthrowing Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian President . The violent clashes between protesters and security forces lead at least 846 deaths and 100,000 injured with 90 police stations burned . The protest took place in major towns such as Alexandria and Cairo. The protest appears to have been inspired by the Tunisian revolution in which the long-standing Tunisian president was overthrown . The grievances of the Egyptian protesters concentrated on political, economic and legal issues that included food price inflation, low wages, police brutality, corruption, lack of free elections as well as freedom of speech, state of emergency laws, and high unemployment . This made Mubarak to dissolve his government and then appointed Omar Suleiman as Vice-President in an effort to quell the dissent. Mubarak then asked Ahmed Shafik to create a new government. Mubarak later stepped down and resigned from office.
The objectives of the research include:
Project outline with academic references
Because of the revolution, the people of Egypt have gotten back their sovereign power and the dictatorship form of government evicted. Charactetrized by non-professionalism, leaderlessness, masses vs. elites, and public scrutiny, the Egyptians took to the street to demand for a more democratic government . The Egyptian protestors were seeking for a government in which there is free and fair election, freedom of speech, as well as multiparty system of government that could grant the citizen the freedom of choice (Radwan, 2012; Alexander S. Gard-Murray, 2012).
The Egyptian revolution triggred the changeover from the extreme use of aggression inherited from the tyrannical regimes to the diplomatic management of political disagreements . The lack of self-confidence and fear barrier have been destroyed and replaced with the "Egyptian pride". The rulers and other senior people in the government no longer allowed escaping accountability for the crimes and misdemeanors they committed . This has instilled a sense of democracy among the leaders.
After the revolution, the political system collapsed and this consequently triggered undue violence in other disputed areas which is perceived to be the best way of resolving such issues since the confidence of the people on the existing law had waned. This has made the Egyptian people to have excessive confidence in believing in their own sovereignty (Barghouti, 2011;Hearns-Branaman, 2012; Radwan, 2012). However this poses a dilemma as it may be hard to best determine the one speaking for the people. The almost total lack of social contract governing the citizens’ conduct has accentuated the required of national dialogue.
The context of Egypt is clear example of where the citizen collectively compel the government to provide the services there are obligated to the people who elected them. The democracy in Egypt is picking as the leaders no longer use brutal force on the citizens as they fear prosecution. Also several political parties have come up in Egypt signifying the reduction of dictatorial one party system.
The Egyptian protestors took to the street to express their grievances in relation to the food price inflation, low wages, corruption, and high unemployment . There inflation rates were already higher to the extent the Egyptians could not tolerate. They wanted a new government that could control inflation, and create more jobs for them. It is the inflation that causes increased food prices and the loss of values of the wages that were being earned by then. Immediately after Mubarak’s resignation as the president, the United States gave Egypt$150 million as a crucial economic assistance meant to aid it changeover towards democracy after the overthrowing of Mubarak, their long time president.
However, from that time of revolution Egypt is still faces massive economic challenges . The economic growth fell below 2% in 2010/2011 financial year due to the unrest. By February 2012, many businesses had still not returned to normal due to frequent strike and corruption investigations that generated ownership uncertainty and impossibility of getting external financing.
It is the economic development that largely determined the stability and democracy of Egypt . The decline in tourism and investment and the hovering youth unemployment are some of the aftermath of the revolution. These socioeconomic drivers of protest had not been alleviated immediately as thought. Because of the condition that resulted, SCAF accepted a $3.2 billion loan from the IMF in December the same year. This showed the political unity of the transitional phase.
There has been frequent confrontation between different Egyptian factions as they strive to establish latest rules for the game . For instance, the civil service employees striking to get permanent contracts and raises; rallies expressing social or religious demands in particular areas; or other employees’ work stoppage to raise their minimum wage .
Data sources and access
Being a theory-based dissertation, the primary sources of data included: books, articles, previous research reports, mass media products, and government reports.
Potential ethical issue
There are a number of potential ethical issues that may come up from the research. The informed consent violation will come when I fail to tell the participants during data collection the vital information they require to know for them to decide independently and voluntarily on whether they can agree or decline to participate in the in the study . It will be my obligation to inform the participants the purpose of the study, the possible psychological harm they may undergo as well as the benefits of participating in the research with caution not to coarse or force the participants to take part in the research (NESH, 2006; SMITH, 2003). It will also be my obligation to avoid any injury or severe burdens that may arise. Children shall never be interviewed without the consent of their parents. The confidentiality of the participants will also be my obligation besides respecting the privacy of the participants (NESH, 2006; SMITH, 2003).
References
Aexander S. Gard-Murray, Y. B.-Y. (2012, Dec 11). Complexity and the Limits of Revolution: What Will Happen to the Arab Spring.
Aziz, M. A. (2002). The President, the Son, and the Military: Succession in Egypt. Arab Studies Journal , 9 (10), 73–88.
Barghouti, M. (2011, Mar 9). Lessons from the Egyptian revolution. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from AL-AHRAM : http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1037/op181.htm
Hearns-Branaman, J. O. (2012). The Egyptian Revolution did not take place: On live television coverage by Al Jazeera English. International Journal of Baudrillard Studies , 9 (1).
Korotayev A., Z. J. (2011). Egyptian Revolution: A Demographic Structural Analysis. 13, 139–169.
Moaddel, M. (2012). The Arab Spring and Egyptian Revolution Makers: Predictors of Participation. Population Studies Center Research Report 12-775 . Eastern Michigan University.
NESH. (2006). Guidelines For Research Ethics In The Social Sciences, Law And The Humanities. Norway: The National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (NESH).
Radwan, A. B. (2012). How the Egyptian revolution Emphasizes on the Sovereighnity of the People. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from American Diplomacy: http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/item/2011/0912/oped/radwan_egyptianrev.html
Siddique, H., Owen, P., & Gabbatt, A. (2011). Protests in Egypt and unrest in Middle East – as it happened. The Guardian .
SMITH, D. (2003). Five principles for research ethics. Monitor Staff , 34 (1), 56.
Stein, E. (n.d.). Revolutionary Egypt:Promises and Perils. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/publications/reports/pdf/SR011/FINAL_LSE_IDEAS__RevolutionaryEgypt_Stein.pdf
