The Egyptian government raised the prices of fuel and electricity at the end of June 2017, marking the second increase in less than a year. These measures are part of an IMF-backed reform effort, initiated in November 2016, that seeks to abandon most currency controls and to cut fuel subsidies. This new round of subsidy cuts has accelerated Egypt’s annual inflation rate, leading it to reach the highest level in decades by July. Despite the deterioration of socio-economic conditions in Egypt, protests have not erupted to any significant degree and, at first sight, the overall situation seems to be stable. This text presents a few doubts as to why the current order is not sustainable – in spite of the lack of public contention
Author: Nadine Abdalla
Nadine Abdalla was a guest researcher in the Intrastate Conflict department at PRIF from June to August 2017. She is a Lecturer at the American University in Cairo (AUC). Her research interests include social movements, State-Society relations and socio-political transformation in Egypt; and the European Neighbourhood Policies. | Twitter: @Nadozz
