Macho Governance and the Selective Adoption of Gender Reforms in Egypt

Bibliographic Data

ID21308243
AuthorsNermin Allam (0000-0002-7536-4154, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-06-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative Political Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0010-4140 • E-ISSN: 1552-3829
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00104140261455874
OpenAlexW7165784700
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited26

Why do autocratic regimes adopt reforms in one domain of gender policy while deferring them in another? Existing literature explains variation in state adoption of gender reforms through feminist mobilization, religious opposition, and policy type. I expand on the literature by developing a framework centered on the authoritarian logic of control and operationalized through carceral logic, which asserts state authority through punitive legal action, and moral domination, which governs through social discipline. I describe the Egyptian regime’s authoritarian logic of control as a macho mode of governance, in which control is performed through toughness and moral authority. Drawing on original interviews and legal analysis, I argue that the Egyptian regime reforms sexual violence laws, where punishment can be instrumentalized and moral discipline asserted, while avoiding family law reform, which requires confronting the patriarchal legal foundations of state power and disrupting alliances with religious authorities. The findings show how internal regime logics shape which feminist demands states act on

Authoritarianism · Autocracy · Corporate governance · Operationalization · Punishment (psychology) · Punitive damages · State (computer science) · Gender Politics and Representation · Islamic Studies and History · Socioeconomic Development in MENA

Tools

Open DOI