'This book makes an original contribution to the study of internal political legitimacy in post-shockwaves societies. The author provides a conceptual framework which sheds light on the rise of "fluid authoritarianism" as a subset of political and socioeconomic ruptures and continuities as well. Essential reading.' Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations
'Polimeno offers a theoretically informed account of the distinctive bases of authoritarianism in Egypt since the fall of Mubarak, highlighting the ways in which internal and external survival strategies are reflected in the Sisi regime's legitimation discourse. The book moves beyond cursory understandings of "authoritarianism" to show how - albeit often fragile - power is organised within a range of spheres including law, religion and political economy.'
Ewan Stein, Senior Lecturer in International Relations
Egypt and the rise of fluid authoritarianism engages with regime discontinuity and the implications this rupture determines. It does this at the structural, political and economic level, domestically and along the international spectrum, by questioning the institutionalisation of nature along the legitimation process.
After the military coup of 2013, Egypt entered a phase of internal transition, where authorities attempted to forge a legitimation claim with former and new actors that emerged in the post-2013 panorama. However, this eventually led to a micro-structural re-organisation of infrastructural relations, which impacted the overall identity of the regime turning it into a fluid authoritarianism that added a non-exclusivist personalist sub-trait to the identity of the system. This resonated not only at a political but also an economic level.
Based on extensive research and fieldwork the book offers a concise overview of authoritarian adaptations and legitimation in the Middle East.
