When looking at why opposition to
the Nasser regime lacked in Egypt, one must go beyond the oppression that
independent parties might have been put under.
It is true that Nasser did ban oppositions groups and made it impossible
for them to reach the mass public. However, as Wickham also mention, he was
also able to target groups that might oppose the regime, mainly the urban
educated lower middle class, and pass legislations that would favor them in
order to gain their support. In fact,
not only did Nasser make universities more affordable for people to attend, but
he also began a program of “resocialization”, where students were indoctrinated
into supporting the regime. Central to
the support that Nasser was getting from these groups was the ideal of a social
contract: the regime would provide for
its people as long as its people support the regime. For this reason, for example, university
graduates were guaranteed a government job once they had completed their
education. However, though this strategy
did gain support for the Nasser regime, it was bound to collapse under its own
weight. With lower costs and guaranteed
futures, too many university graduates were asking for government jobs, to the
point where, once obtained said occupation, its returns were not as prestigious
as it was once. The social contract broke, and, along side with the defeat from
Israel, the Egyptian population took to the streets. Opposition to the government could once again
be encountered.
I believe that in
our current “post-Arab Revolts” environment there are many reasons why
Islamists in particular have yielded such successes at the ballot box. First and foremost, since most of the people
in the MENA region are Muslims, they would find it easier to identify with a
political group that follows their beliefs.
Secondly, religion-affiliated organizations have always been part of the
culture and governments of the people in the MENA region, though always
alongside foreign influence. Therefore,
seeing that these Islamists groups represent a familiarity to the people of
that area, they are going to be voted for more willingly and with greater
numbers. Last but not least, Islamist
groups represent the voices that had been repressed during authoritarian
regimes, as in the case of Egypt and Nasser, therefore attracting more people
now who are looking for something different than what they were accustomed to
see happening in government.
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