Leiden University Student Repository

Vente, Martijn (2024)

From Structural Adjustment to Revolution: The IMF's Role in Egypt's Arab Spring

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

This thesis examines the role of International Monetary Fund (IMF)-led Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) in the economic and political landscape of Egypt leading up to the Arab Spring. By integrating a Marxist perspective with third-wave revolutionary theory, the study explores how these programs influenced the emergence of crony capitalism and affected civil-military relations in Egypt. Through a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative analysis, the research investigates the IMF’s impact on Egypt's macroeconomic and socioeconomic indicators. The findings suggest that while SAPs initially addressed macroeconomic imbalances, they failed to foster sustainable and inclusive growth, exacerbating poverty and unemployment. Moreover, the IMF's oversight of the emergence of crony capitalism contributed to political instability, which played a critical part in the uprisings against the Mubarak regime.

Structural Adjustment Programs

IMF

Egyptian Economy

Arab Spring

Crony Capitalism

Civil–military relations

Author

Vente, Martijn

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Middle East

Supervisors

Yenen, A.A.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en