NPF Cycle Two Fellows and Projects

Mahmoud Salah: Protest Movements and the Creation of Political Opportunity in Egypt

 

Abstract: This study attempts to change existing theories that use modernization to address current transformations and their future. It aims to underline the role of new protest movements by using the theory of political opportunity and the concept of power, identifying the relationship between these movements and political changes, defining the role of protests in building a political structure that expresses national social movements, and showing the ability of new movements to guarantee democratic change and rectify biased policies. The study explores the future of these movements and their ability to drive social and political change within the framework of raising the awareness of activists to benefit from political opportunities and create political and social alternatives.

 

Mahmoud Salah holds an MA in Literature from the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University. He is interested in protest movements and their relationship with political power in particular. He worked as a field researcher for a while. He is currently preparing for a PhD on the relationship between protest movements and political opportunities. His published works include: “Building Power in Three Egyptian Industrial Organizations: A Comparative Field Study”, published in Arab Economic Research (a peer-reviewed scientific journal) by the Centre for Arab Unity Studies, Beirut (Issue 47, Summer 2009 – 2); and “Social Movements and Political Opportunity”, published in the Arab Journal of Political Science, Issue 29, Winter 2011.