Labor Against the Regime

How do worker movements emerge and evolve under authoritarian regimes? What enables labor activists to overcome constraints and win concessions, and what leads to demobilization? Nadine Abdalla provides an inside look at two of Egypt’s most significant worker protest movements in the years preceding the 2011 Arab uprisings. Through a fine-grained analysis of the labor movement at the Misr Spinning and Weaving Company in Al-Mahalla Al-Kubra and the State Employees Movement of the Real Estate Tax