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Control-(H)Alt-Delete the Ultras : Establishing and dismantling spaces of contention in revolutionary and post-revolutionary Egypt

par Gibril, Suzan
Président du jury Louault, Frédéric
Promoteur Sfeir, Jihane
Publication Non publié, 2018-10-15

Thèse de doctorat

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Résumé :

The case of the Ultras’ mobilisation and their subsequent demobilisation in the Egyptian revolutionary and post-revolutionary context raises the question of the relationship between the notion of contention and repression, which are questions that are at the centre of debates in the literature. Based on a thorough analysis of the Ultras groups’ collective actions, this dissertation aims at understanding the mobilisation and demobilisation mechanisms at play in revolutionary and post-revolutionary Egypt. Inspired by the literature of contentious collective action and the sociology of sport in various national contexts, we aim at answering the following question: how and in what ways did the Ultras adapt their tools and spaces of mobilisation to avoid state repression? This further prompted the question of the Ultras’ impact on the making of spaces of contention and the general capacity of football fandom to encourage mobilisation. The generalised context of surveillance and control encouraged the development of alternative means and spaces to avoid state repression. Among these alternatives means and spaces, were the stadium, as well as the Ultras’ street art and songs. By investing and (re)possessing these spaces, we show that the Ultras were able to transform a space into an area of conflict and contestation. In other words, these alternative means and spaces can be seen as a way for them to break away from the shackles of social and institutional norms to oppose the general “paradigm of depression, control and normalisation of apathy”. The return to authoritarianism and the coming to power of General Abdel Fattah al Sisi (since June 2013), however, drastically impacted on collective action, as the various groups witnessed the progressive destruction of the spaces of protest and memorialisation that had been developing since the onset of the uprisings. In this regard, we investigate the issue of the demobilisation of the Ultras groups and progressive effacement of spaces of contention. Looking back on the events of the 2011 uprisings and the subsequent 2013 uprisings against president Morsi and regime response, we establish that the general disappearance of protest is linked to the banalisation of violence, which instilled this idea that brutality was commonplace, almost inconsequential because a part of Egyptians’ daily lives. We conclude the dissertation by reflecting on the delocalisation of dissent through the collective act of remembrance. Indeed, the new laws on social media suggest additional efforts from the regime to contain and control political dissent, further contributing to the expansion of the concept of “tentacular state”. In this regard, the acts of remembrance can be understood as a way for the social actors to redefine their repertoires of collective action. Through the digitisation and subsequent dissemination of narratives, photos, videos and sounds, social actors such as the Ultras repossess new spaces of dissent and resistance beyond their physical borders. Ultimately, the power of digitisation and collective acts of remembrance lies in their capacity and potential to stimulate dissent, thus securing political effects.