Discontented, Disillusioned, Divided: The Egyptians Dreaming of a Better Yesterday

Abstract

Nostalgia has had a subtle, yet constant presence on social media in Egypt over the last decade. As a phenomenon it is neither particularly prominent, nor that recent. However, examining its expressions more closely has the potential of providing valuable insights to the recent social developments in Egypt. That is because, while rooted in history, nostalgia is an emotion strongly connected to the present. It is in essence an attempt to understand and explain the current by evoking the knowledge of the past. Thus, looking into how and why nostalgics reflected on contemporary events might also give an indication of Egyptians’ changing attitudes towards their current situation. The present work is an attempt to tackle precisely these issues. It focuses on three types of nostalgia, based on the historical period they are glorifying. These are the Nasser era, the January 2011 Revolution and the time of the monarchy. The paper begins by presenting some of the existing literature on nostalgia, in an attempt to define and conceptualize the term, paying particular attention to nostalgia’s connection to the present. After providing some background information on the nature of the different types of nostalgia, it then goes on to examine their expressions based on materials collected through a year-long observation of social media activity. The essay concludes that the way people see the present influences the different types of nostalgia in different ways. However, in all three cases, albeit to a different degree, the current situation radicalizes nostalgic expressions, transforming them into a way to express discontent with the present. Moreover, the three nostalgias the paper looks at also seem indicative of two other phenomena, namely Egyptians’ increasing disillusionment with the current regime and the apparent social fragmentation. Both of these could be seen as resulting from the nature of nostalgia, as well as the political and social context in Egypt.