Fatalism and revolution

Expanding our understanding of fatalism during a unique political opening in Egypt

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3978995
AutoresBasem Rashwan (The Ohio State University, autor de correspondencia), J Craig Jenkins (0000-0003-3552-8027, The Ohio State University)
Año2017
Volumen22
Número4
Páginas645-664
Fecha de publicación2017-08-08
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Journal of North African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1362-9387 • E-ISSN: 1743-9345
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13629387.2017.1316716
OpenAlexW2609907210
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas40

Fatalism is the belief that major life events are outside of our individual control. We examine two distinct types of fatalism – theological and empirical fatalism – in Egypt during a unique 'moment of madness' immediately following the revolution of 2011 when the political system was in upheaval and many thought all things were politically possible. Drawing on a non-proportional quota survey of 136 Egyptian metropolitan adults in the midst of the 2012 Egyptian Presidential elections, we find that empirical fatalism (belief that fate controls) and theological fatalism (belief that an omniscient God controls) are uncorrelated and have quite distinct social correlates and implications for protest action. Empirical fatalism is tied to being older and female and is a significant deterrent to protest potential. Theological fatalism, which is more widespread, is stronger among the less educated and men but has no effects on protest potential. In contrast with arguments about the anti-modernism of Islamic beliefs, Muslims in general and the more intensely religious Muslims are less likely to be empirically fatalistic. Our results suggest that, at least in Egypt, there are at least two distinct types of fatalism and, while empirical fatalism discourages protests, theological fatalism does not. We discuss the implications of these findings for the further study of fatalism and its impact on political and social action

Economics · Epistemology · Fatalism · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Sociology · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence