New Middle Class and Political Challenges of the Egyptian Government from 1980 to 2011

Sociopolitical developments have deep connections with the growth and expansion of the middle class. One of the features of modernizing societies is emergence and growth of middle class. Egypt, a great Arab country, over the past two centuries has a long experience of modernization as a result of which it has been a ground for social developments. Besides the Islamist groups, other new currents, parties and groups have been formed in that country. The present paper is an attempt to study the social base and roots of the emergence and growth of new middle class in Egypt from 1980 onward. The growth and expansion of this class and increasing demand for political participation, created serious challenges for the Mubarak regime which finally led to its collapse in 2011. Authoritarianism, class contradiction, corruption, crisis of participation and dependence on foreign powers are some of these challenges.