The Egyptian Social Contract

A History of State-Middle Class Relations

By: Relli Shechter

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Paperback | 15 August 2024

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Paperback
248 Pages

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23.4 x 15.6

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The Egyptian Social Contract explores the intricacies of the relationship between the state and its citizens, from the establishment of the semi-independent Egyptian nation in 1922 until the 2011 Uprising. The book studies how and why a social contract that had been reformed in the aftermath of World War II became the core of state-citizen relations under President Nasser. It further explores the long and tortuous search for a new social contract in Egypt since the 1970s.

Relli Shechter looks at how this social contract channelled socioeconomic development over time, creating an Egyptian middle-class society. Shechter probes a political economy in which class vision and interests in development intertwined with the rise and entrenchment of authoritarianism. The perseverance of this social contract has mostly inhibited socioeconomic and political reforms, or the making of a new social contract, in Egypt. Such reforms would have challenged Egypt's ruling elite, and no less so its middle-class society.

Industry Reviews

Relli Shechter has provided a carefully reasoned, well-documented, in-depth political economic study that provides unparalleled insight into the historical making of the current economic and social crisis in Egypt. By using the concept of the social contract he has theoretically broken new ground in understanding Egyptian state-citizen relations that moves beyond the conventional authoritarian bargain.

--Roel Meijer, Radboud University

The term "social contract" has been a staple of writings on Egyptian politics for half a century. With precision and an intrepid willingness to re-examine long-accepted claims, Shechter shows that the contract, its origin and evolution, and even the identity and behavior of the contracting parties, have been profoundly misunderstood.

--Nathan Brown, George Washington University

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