Identity Negotiation in the Arab Spring Discourse: the Egyptian Case

In both Eastern and Western traditions, political discourse and its relation to identity have been studied. The focus of this paper is the construction of identity and self-presentation strategies in the discourse of Mubarak of Egypt during the time known as “the Arab Spring”. This study aims to answer questions about how Mubarak constructs the various identities evident in his discourse, what kinds of resources are brought into effect, and how the multiple identities contribute to the aims of political discourse in general. While Mubarak recruited the considerable coercive power at his disposal, at the same time, he sought the power of discourse to construct and defend his legacy. Furthermore, he used the power of discourse to project his account of the external interference in domestic affairs and to recruit shared identities (based on nationalism).