The 2011 Egyptian Uprising: a new chapter among Egyptians in the UK?

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThis thesis examines the reactions of Egyptians living in the UK to the 2011 uprising in their home country, in terms of belonging to Egypt, Egyptian identity, political participation and media use. The Egyptian revolution was a defining moment in the history of the country and several studies have focused on the effects of the unrest on Egyptians. Further studies are required to study the impact on the Egyptians abroad. This thesis focuses on studying the effects of the revolution on Egyptians living in the UK, including first and second generations. The study is qualitative research involving interviews and ethnographic work among Egyptians in the UK. The inclusion criteria of interviewees include Egyptians residing in the UK aged 18 and over who witnessed the 2011 uprising in Egypt or in the UK. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted, four ethnographic events were attended and data from two groups on Facebook were collected. The transcripts of the interviews, the ethnographic checklists, reports and the groups’ data were thematically analysed and studied. This study has revealed that the revolution acted as a catalyst for the sense of belonging and identity in three dimensions, namely, differences among the first and second generations, in terms of reaction to the revolution, in defining the terms homeland, sense of pride and notion of return, among other parameters. Political participation of the diaspora in response to the revolution was variable and the sense of hopefulness faded away over time to a sense of hopelessness. Offline participation, compared to online participation, was a feature expressed more among the second-generation diaspora. Media use by the diaspora was studied regarding the role of social and mainstream media as a source of information of the revolution. The study concluded that the exertion of the effect of the revolution on the diaspora during the early years faded away over time, witnessing an unexpected deviation with respect to changing events in Egypt. The study proposes a new framework for features of the second-generation Egyptian diaspora in the UK, which covers eight different areas emphasised in this study