The Political Effects of Changing Public Opinion in Egypt: A Story of Revolution

This chapter looks at changes in public opinion in Egypt, using the 2000 and 2008 World Values Survey. During this period, there was a major increase in popular support for democracy, a rise in concerns about inequality, a rise in values associated with modernization, and a fall in support for political Islam. This chapter examines the extent to which these changes were connected and how they clustered along class, age, and education lines. In 2000, Egyptian youth were more in favor of democracy than their parents, but by 2008 this generational split had disappeared. The new supporters of democracy were concentrated among two groups: one driven by concerns about inequality, especially among the poorer, and one driven by modernization values, especially among the more educated. The middle class, being at the intersection of both groups, emerged as the main champion of democratization.