Abstract

Compiling an exhaustive representative list of the root causes of the Egyptian January 25th revolution, is a daunting and challenging task. Egypt's historical richness and depth, its demographic complexities, multiple and upon occasion conflicting identities, its geo-political characteristics, the length of President Mubarak's three decades' rule, and the successive layers of policies and discursive fragmentations through the various phases of his rule, are but a few factors at play - enough to challenge any analyst. There is no doubt that any attempt to begin to understand what motivated millions into Egypt's streets for 18 days after decades of relative submissiveness, will indeed require a deep analytical deconstruction of Mubarak's corpus of policies in 30 years. The following analysis aims to scratch the surface and delve into some of the key root causes for the uprising, addressing each separately and as interwoven points of latent resistance, culminating in Mubarak's ousting. It is meant to be a broad perspective rather than an in-depth study; a ground work for a more extensive subsequent endeavour. Moreover, the current "fluid" state of affairs after more than a year since the cataclysmic eruption of anger and resistance in Egypt, adds further difficulties to uncovering the root causes of the Revolution. This is partly due to the growing, yet legitimately valid possibility, that the Egyptian Revolution is still "work in progress" and far from "a done deal." Such a perspective leaves the Revolution with open vistas in terms of fulfilling its goals. This is especially the case as potential new and emerging causes seem to be feeding into a turbulent situation of escalating discontent that carries the potential of a second round of a massive revolt (Darwish: 2012). Contextually, this perspective limits itself to a more manageable and contained timeline, up to the point of the uprising's initial success in toppling the former Egyptian President on February 11th, 2011. It is my hope that some of the insights offered in this context, will shed lights on later developments that did and are still taking place on the ground.

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