In the vast field of political culture on the one hand and public participation, respectively democratisation, on the other hand I will start by limiting the field of my study by defining its aims. My first guiding thesis is that there is a cleavage between state and society in Egypt and I want to show some aspects and dimensions of its present status and its historical origins. The two central fields of my study will be firstly the actual secular state practice and its ideological origins and secondly Islam, its influence in Egyptian society, and its compatibility to liberal trends, the concept of civil society or democracy in general.
To look at public participation in any state is an ambitious task, for the field of participation is broad and hard to measure. I will deal with political public participation. Public participation can be limited to social groups, like syndicates. By aims I am referring to the fact that different groups have different participatory intentions. This aspect becomes more interesting when looking at Islamist groups.
Looking at public participation is at the same time looking at democratic processes and political culture of the society being analysed. This includes regarding in what way the preconditions for political participation are provided: Freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of press and last but not least education. Political culture includes as well many cultural aspects of the society analysed, here Islam comes in as a religion as well as a theoretical system for a society respectively a state. All those being components of political culture, the basic research questions are consequently: What is public participation, or rather what will be the definition I will base my study on? What are the components of Egyptian political culture? What definition of civil society is adequate for Egypt? Is civil society only a term employed by “Western” scientists based on “Western” concepts and developments and thus not appropriate to describe Egyptian society?
The second central thesis of my study is that Egypt, still an authoritarian state, has begun a process of liberalisation to provide the possibility of political participation to its people. The aim of my research is to investigate how far this liberalisation went until today and what consequences this process has for Egyptian society. Thus the question of legitimacy will be a central one.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Historical Introduction
- Development of participatory institutions in Egyptian history before the revolution of the free officers
- Egypt after the revolution of the free officers
- The state and power structure
- Executive: The Presidency and his cabinet
- Legislative: The People's Assembly and The Shura Council
- Judiciary
- Preconditions for Public Participation
- Education, Literacy, with special regard to the status of women in Egypt
- Freedom of expression and press state repression
- Effectiveness of institutionalised forms of participation
- Definition of basic concepts
- Empiric Data on voter's turnout
- The electoral process of the People's Assembly and the party system
- The party system
- Assessment of constitutional forms of participation
- Islam and Civil Society in Egypt
- Definition of basic concepts
- Islam: development of political ideas and relation of state and religion
- Islam and development of democratic ideas in Egypt
- Principles of Democracy and Islam
- Islam and Civil Society: The Muslim Brotherhood
- Woman, Islam and Civil Society in Egypt
- Militant Islamist groups and Government Repression
- Civil Society in Egypt
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This research paper aims to analyze the relationship between political culture, Islam, and public participation in modern Egypt. The study focuses on the gap between the secular state and society, examining both the state's practices and its historical roots, as well as the influence of Islam on Egyptian society. The paper investigates the compatibility of Islamic ideas with liberal trends, the concept of civil society, and democracy in general.
- The state-society cleavage in Egypt
- The influence of Islam on Egyptian society
- The compatibility of Islamic ideas with liberal trends and democracy
- The development of democratic ideas in Egypt
- The role of civil society in Egypt
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: This chapter introduces the research paper's objectives and key themes, highlighting the state-society cleavage and the role of Islam in Egyptian political culture. It defines the scope of the study and outlines the main research questions.
- Historical Introduction: This chapter explores the development of participatory institutions in Egypt before and after the revolution of the Free Officers. It analyzes the historical roots of state-society relations and the influence of foreign powers on the Egyptian political system.
- The state and power structure: This chapter examines the structure of the Egyptian state, analyzing the power distribution between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
- Preconditions for Public Participation: This chapter examines the preconditions for public participation in Egypt, including education, literacy, freedom of expression, and press freedom.
- Effectiveness of institutionalised forms of participation: This chapter analyzes the effectiveness of institutionalized forms of participation in Egypt, focusing on the electoral process, the party system, and the assessment of constitutional forms of participation.
- Islam and Civil Society in Egypt: This chapter explores the relationship between Islam and civil society in Egypt, analyzing the development of Islamic political ideas and the role of Islamic organizations.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This research paper focuses on the key topics of political culture, public participation, democratization, state-society relations, Islam, civil society, and the development of democratic ideas in Egypt. It examines the role of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic groups in Egyptian politics.
- Quote paper
- Mag. Stefan Svec (Author), 2004, Political Culture, Islam and Public Participation in Modern Egypt, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/26573
