Abstract

The conception of citizenship which accompanied the emergence of the nation-state, in essence, relates to ‘a territorially bounded population with a specific set of rights and duties.’ Such a conception of citizenship assumes that all the members of the nation have exactly the same set of rights and duties. I am interested in studying Cairo. Unfortunately, it is particularly far from this normative definition of citizenship, as its citizens are not equal. For that reason, I am keen on studying citizenship in practice, as a relation between citizens and state. I argue that state practices, represented in urban planning, are constructing distinct communities based on spatial segregation and inequality which constitute different citizenships within the same society. These different conceptions of citizenship imply that the citizens of the same nation have distinct visions on their roles as citizens and the role of the state towards them. Consequently, the state-society relations are framed differently by both the citizens and the state, based on the citizens’ discrete social, economic and political realities. I am specifically interested in answering the question of how does state-citizen relations differ from gated communities to informal areas? And what are the implications of these different conceptions of citizenship? In an attempt to answer this question, fieldwork has been conducted in two selected neighboring areas; Uptown Cairo representing a gated community and Manshīyat Nāṣir representing an informal area.

Department

Political Science Department

Degree Name

MA in Political Science

Graduation Date

2-2017

Submission Date

1-24-2017

First Advisor

Ibrahim Elnur

Committee Member 1

Marie Duboc

Committee Member 2

Amal Hamada

Extent

102 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

Comments

After an intensive year of work on my thesis, I am grateful for everybody who participated in my research and enriched my academic and life experience. I owe my deepest gratitude to Dr. Elnur and Dr. Duboc for supporting my research. I share the credit of my work with all the residents of Manshyat Nasir and Uptown Cairo who participated in my study. I would like to thank all my professors and colleagues who contributed to my learning process in Cairo University, the American University in Cairo and Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen. I also wish to thank the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) for the financial support, without which this thesis would not have been possible. I am also grateful for the library of the American University which provided me with most the academic literature I needed. I am especially thankful to Dr. Nadia Aboughazi, Aya Nassar and Dr. Hanan Sabea who helped me to develop my passion towards studying the city and its people. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends for supporting me. I am especially grateful to my parents and my sisters, and Moritz Mihatsch, Michael Mulligan, Sena, Lolo, Francis, Rana, Walied, Hakim, Hend, Nada, Saad and Sherif.

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