The Notions of Citizenship and the Civil State in the Egyptian Transition Process

0454004 - OÚ 2016 RIV NL eng J - Journal Article
Steuer, Clément - Blouët, A.
The Notions of Citizenship and the Civil State in the Egyptian Transition Process.
Middle East Law and Governance. Roč. 7, č. 2 (2015), s. 236-256. ISSN 1876-3367
Institutional support: RVO:68378009
Keywords : Egypt * citizenship * political science
OECD category: Political science
Method of publishing: Limited access

This article deals with two notions that have become central in the Egyptian political debate since 2011 – citizenship and the “civil state” – and presents the struggle to define them that has taken place, within the political and legal arenas. If the notion of citizenship is relatively clear in the Egyptian context, i.e. the means of achieving equality between all citizens, the notion of the civil state is characterized by an important semantic haziness, which results in a political struggle around the issue of its definition. Although there is a relative consensus in Egypt regarding the term itself, its substance is fiercely debated, as we can see through the examination of the 2012 writing process of the constitution. Particularly, the issue of the role of sharīʿa regarding the positive law is still deeply dividing the Egyptian society.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0255350