Existential statelessness: Egyptians in London between the Revolution and Brexit

Thesis

The research provides a window into the London-based, Egyptian cosmopolitan community’s sense of belonging during an era of political upheaval. This has been demonstrated in both their politically stressed homeland – where a revolution occurred in 2011 as part of the wider Arab uprisings – and British society’s move towards more muscular nationalism following the 2016 Brexit vote. This research focuses on the Egyptian interviewees’ search to reset their belonging during this period of political change. At an empirical level, analysis asks why cosmopolitans – however that moniker may be used in the post-modern context – who experienced these political changes now feel they are existentially stateless? The research demonstrates how a host society and its politics may also mould identities, as well as conceptions of home and the need to belong. It reveals the contours of evolving Egyptian identities in the context of their spectrum of assimilations into British – specifically English – social, political and economic settings.

Authors: El-Rashidi, S

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-mnb8o79pp
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Boris Johnson; extremism; David Cameron; immigrants; secular; Egyptian Revolution 2011; xenophobia; Muslim Brotherhood; racism; Islamism; cosmopolitans; Nigel Farage; nationality; existential; revolution; President Sisi; Islamophobia; Brexit; third culture kid; Theresa May; diaspora
• Subjects: Muslim Brotherhood; Existentialism; Brexit; Egyptian Revolution; Islamophobia; Statelessness; Radicalism; Egypt; Diaspora; Immigration; European Union--Great Britain; Racism