Unexpected Brokers of Mobilization: Contingency and Networks in the 2011 Egyptian Uprising

Clarke, Killian

doi:10.5129/001041514812522770

Cited by 61 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…28 Clarke emphasizes the role of networks in the Egyptian uprising of January 2011 as well. 29 More generally, sociological research has established that networks can change individuals' perceptions, including their emotions, as well as individual judgments of fairness and moral values. 30 Students of insurgency and rebellion have also come to emphasize the importance of network factors.…”

Section: Strong Ties Persuasion and Coordinated Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Disaffection to Desertion: How Networks Facilitate Military Insubordination in Civil Conflict

Koehler¹,

Ohl²,

Albrecht³

2016

Comp Politics

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Soldiers contemplating desertion from the military amid a civil conflict are confronted with a dilemma: although they might harbor strong grievances against continued military service, they face incentives to falsify their preferences and stay in the army. This dilemma arises due to the extreme risks associated with the process of desertion on the one hand and the fact that relations between deserters and rebels are dominated by mistrust, on the other hand. The first problem renders the potential costs of desertion extraordinarily high because soldiers face a credible threat of punishment. The second renders the potential payoffs of desertion uncertain because deserters have reasons to believe that rebels will treat them with suspicion or even hostility.Given these extreme decision-making conditions, why would soldiers desert at all? We argue that soldiers assume the extreme risk of desertion when their social networks persuade them of the value and feasibility of desertion. Family, friends, and close hometown connections are crucial in turning disaffection into desertion by activating norms of trust that help convince soldiers that desertion is an acceptable behavior. Such connections also facilitate coordination with rebel networks, which allows soldiers to escape their positions.We draw on extensive fieldwork on the contemporary conflict in Syria to support this argument. Insights from more than ninety interviews with former service members of the Syrian military who are now based in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey allow us to address the meso-dynamics of desertion. Our results show that trust transmitted through strong network ties is a crucial factor in moving soldiers from passive disaffection with military service and the regime to active insubordination.Our argument speaks to several debates in conflict studies and political science more generally. In order to answer the question of why individuals would take extremely high risks in return for uncertain benefits, we draw on the literatures on rebellion and insurgency, 1 as well as on ideas from network theory and social movement studies. 2 Conventional accounts have difficulty explaining the behavior of deserters, which can

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Section: Strong Ties Persuasion and Coordinated Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Disaffection to Desertion: How Networks Facilitate Military Insubordination in Civil Conflict

Koehler¹,

Ohl²,

Albrecht³

2016

Comp Politics

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“…Furthermore, cultural and religious referents are inherently polysemic and even markers like 'Islamism' are consistently being reinterpreted (Volpi, 2010). The relevance of bloc recruitment and mobilization by Islamist leaders showed its limitations during the Arab uprisings as some of the main Islamist networks which had traditionally orchestrated contentious politics were repeatedly bypassed by protest movements (Clarke, 2014). The very idea of who or what constituted an Islamist movement was even reshaped in the circumstances as both pro-and anti-regime actors played the Islamic card (Lacroix & Shalata, 2016).…”

Section: Middle Eastern and North African Dilemmasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Activism in the Middle East and North Africa in times of upheaval: social networks’ actions and interactions

Volpi

Clark

2018

Social Movement Studies

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We seek to better understand recent changes in social mobilization in the MENA region by analysing the formation and evolution of social networks. We propose an interactive perspective linking up contentious politics with routine governance through a dynamic articulation of repertoires of contention. At the heart of our analysis of social networks lie important questions regarding agency, strategic action and outcomes that have significance for social mobilization, social movements and politics at large. We outline how mobilization can change suddenly in the face of dramatic social and political events that transform societal interactions and adopt a bottom-up approach that highlights how micro level interactions in times of crisis produce specific logics and dynamics inside networks and shape what the networks achieve. By starting with descriptions of interactions at the grassroots level, we seek to explain macro level dynamics between networks and other players, including the state. In our approach, the role of other players becomes as important as, if not more than, structural characteristics. By adopting an interactionist orientation, we reveal the temporal dimension of strategic and non-strategic choices of these different players. In this perspective, the internal dynamics of the networks play a crucial part in determining the strategy of mobilization at the time of unrest; they also shape the possibilities for reformulating of the identity of the movement. Equally, the interactions between networks and other social and political players during episodes of contention contribute to validate or invalidate the internal choices of the networks; they also shape the impact of the networks' mobilization on the trajectory of the protests. Finally, the resonance of the networks with the behaviours and identities activated by the upheaval simultaneously empower them as players and tie their fate to a specific type of demands and needs which may be more or less transient.

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“…Yin 2009 ) using ‘explaining-outcome process tracing’ (Beach and Pedersen 2013 ) and semi-structured interviews (cf. Bronéus 2011 ) with members of what Kilian Clarke ( 2014 ) called the Cairo-based political opposition – a network of different social movement organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) engaging in human rights advocacy.…”

Section: Researching Prodemocracy Activism In Post-uprising Egyptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical Considerations and Dilemmas Before, during and after Fieldwork in Less-Democratic Contexts: some Reflections from Post-Uprising Egypt

Wackenhut

2017

Am Soc

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How do we conduct ethically sound social research in less- or non-democratic settings? Here, the ‘ethical guidelines,’ or ‘codes of conduct’ outlined by our professional organizations provide some, albeit only insufficient guidance. In such contexts, issues like informed consent or the avoidance of harm to research participants have to be – based on a careful analysis of the situation on the ground – operationalized. What are, considering the particular social and political context in the field, the potential risks for interviewees and the researcher, and what can be done to eliminate or at least mitigate these risks? Reflecting on extensive fieldwork on the role of the prodemocracy movement during the Egyptian Uprising of 2011 in the wake of the so-called ‘Arab Spring,’ this study illustrates how rather abstract ethical considerations can be handled practically in an environment that is characterized by increasing levels of political repression and decreasing civil liberties. It is in such contexts that a failure to carefully consider such ethical questions entails a very real risk of endangering the livelihoods and even lives of research participants. Furthermore, it is shown that these and similar issues are not only of critical importance when designing a research project, but that they might have to be revisited and renegotiated at later stages of the research process – even after the conclusion of the data collection phase. Here, questions of data protection, anonymity of informants, and the associated ‘do no harm’ principle are particularly pertinent.

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Unexpected Brokers of Mobilization: Contingency and Networks in the 2011 Egyptian Uprising

Cited by 61 publications

References 2 publications

From Disaffection to Desertion: How Networks Facilitate Military Insubordination in Civil Conflict

From Disaffection to Desertion: How Networks Facilitate Military Insubordination in Civil Conflict

Activism in the Middle East and North Africa in times of upheaval: social networks’ actions and interactions

Ethical Considerations and Dilemmas Before, during and after Fieldwork in Less-Democratic Contexts: some Reflections from Post-Uprising Egypt

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