The Nature of the Social Contract in Egypt: Perceptions and Attitudes in the Aftermath of the Forced Evictions on al-Warraq Island

Sammanfattning: In July 2017, the Egyptian police and military forces implemented a government decision that intended to force the residents of al-Warraq island out of their homes. The eviction decision involved 720 homes, but the security forces were only able to demolish five homes before clashes broke out and the security forces withdrew from the island. The disputes between the police forces and island inhabitants resulted in the death of a young man and the detention of 19 island residents who tried to block the machines from demolishing the homes of people. The eviction day marked a turning point in the history of the island and impacted residents’ opinions on the state, which makes it relevant to study their perceptions on the Egyptian state following the eviction day. This case study portrays these perceptions and attitudes gathered through fieldwork in Egypt and analyzed using the authoritarian social contract theory. The results of the thematic analysis show that, in the aftermath of the forced evictions, residents developed a weakened sense of legitimacy towards the state, perceiving that state interests take priority over citizen interests. Moreover, the results show that people have developed feelings of insecurity because of the state.