Nation Building between Democratization and Poverty Alleviation Policy: Towards a New Social Contract in Egypt

Bread, freedom and social justice, were the main slogans of people in Egypt and Tunisia calling potentially for a new social contract and invalidating the old one. Those slogans have highlighted the deep dispute between lay people and their governments after long eras of ignorance for their dire needs for development and democratization. While much of the protests were about voice and political accountability, there is still a puzzle of how there could have been so much discontent in the face of seemingly strong and improving economic reform policies. One of the main challenges in Egypt is: How to build a nation that responses positively to people needs ? And How to build a sense of nationhood that includes all these primitive loyalties that dramatically revived while the state has no successful model- yet- in power sharing and wealth distribution and participatory development