Civil Society and the Uncivil State: Land Tenure Reform in Egypt and the Crisis of Rural Livelihoods

Abstract

In this paper, Ray Bush examines the impact of recent changes in the relationship between landowners and tenants in Egypt. He does so by looking at Law 96 of 1992, which revoked rights of tenure that had been a hallmark of President Gamal Abdel Nasser's social revolution. In this context Bush explores the links between economic liberalization, on one had, and political liberalization, on the other, specifically as they relate to rural Egypt - rural livelihoods, asset redistribution and, especially, land. Bush also considers the declared intentions of the government and donors (the United States Agency for International Development - USAID, and the World Bank, in particular) relating to political liberalization and the role of rural civil society, and sets those intentions against actual outcomes interms of political representation, participation in local institutions, rule of law, improvement of rural well-being and protection of rural livelihoods. While the government of Egypt...