Publication

In this eyewitness report, a researcher who in Cairo’s Tahrir Square during the revolt in early 2011 reveals how the social composition and the moods of the movement fluctuated throughout the protest. He says that nothing was predetermined; even the events that led to the occupation of the square itself had elements of contingency about them. The interplay between a minority of politicized participants and a much larger group of non-political young people from Cairo’s neighbourhods was at the heart of the shifts that took place, which were in turn influenced by the tactics of security forces and the character of official media coverage. He argues that these factors, critical to the evolution of the movement and the outcome of the protest, may continue to be important in shaping the aftermath of Egypt’s revolt.