The Rise and Fall of the Tahrir Repertoire

Theorizing Temporality, Trajectory, and Failure

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2244697
AutoresAtef Said (University of Illinois Chicago), Atef Shahat Said (0000-0002-6150-5147, University of Illinois Chicago, autor de correspondencia)
Año2022
Volumen69
Número1
Páginas222-240
Fecha de publicación2022-01-25
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial Problems (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0037-7791 • E-ISSN: 1533-8533
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/socpro/spaa024
OpenAlexW3041023130
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas12
Referencias citadas29

This article examines how and why the strategy of occupying Tahrir Square went from being the central mode of action and defining image of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 to an ineffective strategy read by many as symbolic of the revolution's ultimate failure during the transitional period of 2011-2012. This question speaks to a lacuna in the literature on repertoires, specifically a lack of attention to their temporality and the lessons to be learned from their failure. I propose a framework that examines the trajectory of repertoires and traces their 1) meaning; 2) internal composition; 3) relationality vis-à-vis the regime in relation to which the repertoire is practiced; and 4) temporal momentum. Using this framework, I chart the rise and fall of the Tahrir repertoire in a very short period: from February 12, 2011, to December 5, 2012. The article draws on ethnographic, qualitative, and historical data collected over three research trips taken between February 4, 2011, and January 7, 2015

Action (physics) · Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Ethnography · Literature · Meaning (existential) · Period (music) · Repertoire · Sociology · Temporality · Anthropology · History · Islamic Studies and History · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Middle East Politics and Society · Philosophy