Urban spatial politics and collective action in revolutionary Cairo: Counter spaces and paradoxes of mobilisation

This article centres the role of Cairo's popular forces in 2011 revolutionary Uprising Egypt. It does so by bringing to focus relationship between these forces' everyday spatial practices and forms contention, on one hand, activism protests central places like Tahrir Square, other. demonstrates that life neighbourhoods Cairo is constitutive a political domain which ordinary citizens cultivate resources, dispositions capacities for collective action mobilisation kind witnessed January Uprising. also shows how lived experiences city's are formative oppositional subjectivities enacted context this mobilisation. The identifies illuminates two primary paradoxes arise out disjuncture modalities pursued Tahrir-oriented activists (al-thuwwar) tactics, strategies conception Revolution, Tracing engagement Uprising, contribution reveals enacting their articulated own Revolution. More specifically, expounds they did shifting locale from Square streets neighbourhoods, widening acts urban insurgency advance rights claims city.