The remarkable shift from ‘students’ to ‘university youth’ protests: the case of Egypt (1919–2011)

Much of the literature on the Tahrir Square uprising in Egypt in 2011 interprets it from a global perspective, viewing it as a manifestation of youth anger in the digital age or as a product of neoliberalism. More contextually grounded approaches situate it within local political dynamics and longer historical trajectories of contention, yet still tend to treat ‘youth’ and ‘students’ as interchangeable categories. This study contextualises the uprising within the long history of Egypt’s student movement, beginning in 1919. It examines both the student movement and the January 25 uprising through the lens of social movement theory, analyzing their protest cycles, claims, performances, innovations, shifts, and alliances. Since cycles of protest are often separated by periods of silence but still affect each other, the study adopts the concept of ‘generations’ to encompass both actions and inactions and provide a comprehensive view of Egypt's protest legacy. It argues that the term ‘youth’, frequently used during the Arab Spring, primarily refers to ‘university youth’ – including students and recent graduates – who played a critical role in advocating for social change, with universities serving as a key arena of social struggle.