Abstract

Following the Arab Spring and specifically the January 25th 2011 revolution in Egypt, countries in the region continue to face turmoil economically, politically and at the security level. This has lead to great controversy and polarization between the different actors, and stagnation of the democratic transformation of the country. When looking at one of the root causes of the uprisings, corruption is specifically highlighted. Post-revolutionary governments have pledged to combat the phenomenon at all levels, but their policy impact is yet to be seen. The purpose of this research was to look at the types of corruption affecting small businesses in formal and informal districts of Cairo before and after the January 2011 revolution. The district of Nasr City was chosen, including its formal neighborhoods and the informal area of Ezbet Al-Haggana Small grocery businesses were selected as representatives of the largest business sector in Egypt. The purpose was to identify the discrepancies between the two types of sectors in the types of corruption they face on a daily basis, and how they have been impacted by the Revolution. This would allow us to gain insights on the barriers to conducting business after the Revolution and how anti-corruption policies affect businesses at the local level. The study findings indicate that corruption affecting small businesses in both formal and informal districts of Cairo decreased drastically, compared to before the revolution; the main reason for the results being the breakdown of citizens’ fears and the weakening of governmental power and authority, particularly in the police.

Department

Public Policy & Administration Department

Degree Name

MA in Public Policy

Graduation Date

Spring 5-29-2013

Submission Date

5-29-2013

First Advisor

Bremer, Jennifer

Committee Member 1

Barsoum, Ghada

Committee Member 2

Abd El Halim, Khaled

Extent

87 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Library of Congress Subject Heading 1

Bureaucracy -- Corrupt practices -- Egypt -- Cairo.

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

I would like to thank my parents & my sisters for their continuous support and endless efforts to help me reach this point. Dr. Jennifer, Dr. Khaled and Dr. Ghada thank you a million times for your guidance, knowledge and feedback throughout this research. Also, special thanks to everyone (Friends, Faculty and Staff) who helped me not only with this research, but also with my journey throughout AUC.

Download

Share

COinS