The same social media tactics that facilitated the Arab Spring Revolution are no longer large factors in influencing successful grassroots mobilization in Egypt.
The Freedom and Justice Party, formed after the revolution by one of the largest Islamist political societies — the Muslim Brotherhood —is a leader in political campaigning in Egypt. A factor contributing to the party’s lead in the race is their ability to articulate an Islamist message via religious outlets. These tactics prove to be stronger than social media in terms of spreading awareness regarding political movements in the Arab world.
Professor Mehrzad Boroujerdi, director of the Middle Eastern Studies Department at Syracuse University, said people are the ones that spark political movements, not social media. While many believe social media played a prominent role in the Egyptian revolution, it was actually citizens who initiated the movement, he said.
Adel El-Adawy, a master’s candidate for political science at American University, is currently studying abroad in Egypt at the American University in Cairo. His blog, “Egyptian Student Abroad” reached 50,000 views in the first few months. El-Adawy understands the significance of social media, but said in an email that he believes its role in the Egyptian election is over-valued.
Social media is important, he said, but should not be overestimated. Only around 27 percent of Egyptians have Internet access, only 11 percent of have a Facebook, and only 1-2 percent of them have a Twitter account, he said.
“Social media played an important role in the uprising to inform the international community, but for domestic purposes and elections it will play a more minor role,” El-Adawy said.
The Islamist parties collectively own a two-thirds majority of the seats in Parliament after winning the election last January. They continue to dominate both grassroots and social media campaigns in the election.
A possible reason why the Liberals are unable to mobilize as successfully as the Islamists could stem from a general lack of public knowledge in political theory. Ahmed Abdel Meguid, an assistant professor of religion at SU, considers himself an “intellectual from Egypt,” as he had spent his undergrad at AUC and was an active member in their Islamic organization.
The best way for both political parties’ ideals to be reached in a post-revolution Egypt is inform youth about political theory and then apply that to a grassroots campaign, Abdel Meguid said.
“Improving the political culture on the streets — you need intellectual exertion and activism in the street,” Abdel Maguid said.
Catherine Schur, the only SU student studying abroad at AUC, still feels that social media plays a significant role in the ongoing Egyptian elections. Each candidate has a Facebook page and Twitter account, although they can’t always be verified, she said.
Schur said this campaign could be arguably the first democratic election in Egypt thus far. Citizens are excited to use social media outlets such as Facebook and YouTube to mobilize support for candidates.
“It goes to show that their election process is similar to ours,” she said in an email. “There isn’t that much difference in the usage of social media except that I believe the people are more excited to use it.”
El-Adawy, the political science student, said there is certainly excitement regarding the election. While campaigning laws state that presidential candidates must officially start campaigning April 30, most candidates have violated these rules by appearing on talk shows, holding public rallies and giving speeches, he said.
“Political participation has certainly increased over the past year and there is grassroots mobilization,” El-Adawy said. “However, the best-organized groups are the Islamists compared to liberal political parties.”
The new emerging presidential candidate of the race is Amr Moussa, a former Arab League secretary general. Moussa, a candidate of the liberal nationalist party is likely to gain many votes because of the recent disqualification of Islamist frontrunners, said Boroujerdi, the Middle Eastern Studies professor.
“Through social media their grassroots reach is limited,” Boroujerdi. “The Muslim Brotherhood has access to mosques and religious associations and it’s hard to have a fair competition and defeat them.”
