Censorship as a populist project: The politics of managing culture in Egypt
[Thesis]
Meir R. Walters
Howard, Marc M.
Georgetown University
2016
202
Committee members: Brumberg, Daniel; Colla, Elliott; Girod, Desha M.
Place of publication: United States, Ann Arbor; ISBN=978-1-339-94819-5
Ph.D.
Government
Georgetown University
2016
While the Arab political rebellions around 2011 grabbed the world's attention, much ensuing scholarship focused on the short-term dynamics of contentious politics rather than the deeper authoritarian legacies that shaped political trajectories throughout the Middle East. Addressing this lacuna, my dissertation examines how longstanding structures of semi-authoritarian governance facilitated "re-autocratization" in Egypt. In particular, this dissertation traces the lasting legacies of state censorship policies from the Mubarak era until 2014. It examines how independent media can support reactionary as well as revolutionary politics. I argue that the military's success at legitimating a new and even more repressive form of governance following the ouster of Mohamed Morsi in 2013 hinged in part on the role of semi-independent media personalities and intellectuals. Many prominent public intellectuals and members of the cultural elite served as more credible defenders of reactionary politics than official state mouthpieces. I also compare the decentralized media environment of Mubarak's Egypt with the draconian censorship policies of Bin 'Ali's Tunisia where the media was directly controlled by the ruling family. The case of Egypt illustrates how limited media liberalization under autocracy can be a double-edged sword for leaders, potentially both justifying repression and enabling contentious politics.
Middle Eastern Studies; Political science
Social sciences;Arab uprisings;Authoritarianism;Censorship;Egypt;Mass mobilization;Repression