ABSTRACT
Weaving socio-political events and educational developments associated with the January 2011 Egyptian Revolution and its aftermath to concepts of citizenship and citizenship education, the purpose of this chapter is to provide a theoretical and contemporary contextual overview that frames issues and themes covered throughout this volume. Arguing for a wide and contentious citizenship spectrum, ranging from “revolutionary citizenship,” where citizens call for social and political rights to “counter-revolutionary citizenship,” where loyal and obedient citizens are in favor of security and stability, the authors elaborate on the dynamics of citizenship construction in post-revolutionary Egypt. Grounded in critical and postcolonial theories, this chapter challenges both the idealized citizenship theories promoted by Western scholars and normative nationalist constructions of citizenship promoted by state, religion, or kinship. Alternatively, it calls for reimagining citizenship and citizenship education in North Africa and Southwest Asia, where people continue to show agency in creating spaces of resistance in formal and non-formal settings, despite systemic constraints on active citizenship. Drawing on Bayat’s (2013) “art of presence” helps the authors capture often hidden spaces, processes, and methods of citizenship formation and learning that have the possibility of social change, which might otherwise go unnoticed. This chapter explains how the revolution and recent socio-political events act as a platform for transformative citizenship education, in Arab states, and surveys some challenges and recent policy developments that have implications for the future of citizenship education in Egypt.
