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Egypt’s Resilient and Evolving Social Activism | Amr Hamzawi | TEDxCarthage

1,961 views · Published 19 May 2017 · 14:23 · Indexed 22 September 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2017 · Nonprofits & Activism

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Egypt’s ruling generals are cracking down on civil society and secular opposition parties and severely inhibiting Islamist movements. At first glance, it seems that the new authoritarian government has succeeded in equating the post-Arab Spring brief democratic opening with chaos. However, this picture ignores another crucial narrative: the emergence of resilient and adaptable social activism. Since 2013, popular protests spearheaded by young activists, professional associations, student groups, and the labor movement have been shaping Egypt’s reality as much as individual initiatives taking on human rights abuses and police brutality. They hold the promise of restoring a degree of openness in the public space and of reviving pluralist politics despite the generals’ stiff resistance.

Amr Hamzawy is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Middle East Program. His research, teaching interests, and academic publications focus on democratization processes in Egypt, political movements and civil society in Egypt, contemporary debates in Arab political thought, and human rights and governance in the Arab world. Hamzawy was elected to the People’s Assembly Egypt’s first parliamentary elections following the January 25, 2011 revolution. He is also a former member of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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