ABSTRACT
This chapter will review the concept of democratic transition and political and economic lessons. Social capital is the main condition to promote social change through collective action. Michael Edwards, the civil society expert, commentator, and author, notes, “social capital is seen as the crucial ingredient in promoting collective action for the common good.” Relating this to the labor movement, workers are social capital and can be interpreted as the collective action of workers. This collective action of workers in a social movement can be an effective mechanism in the quest for democratic transition. How does this apply to Egypt specifically and to the Arab world in general? Or is there a “recession of democracy,” and civil society activism cannot deliver change?
