When the power goes out in Egypt, it might not be a grid failure—it might be a punishment for your politics.
April 15, 2026
Original Paper
Infrastructural Repression in Practice: the Politics of Electricity Cuts in post-2013 Egypt
SSRN · 6288901
The Takeaway
We usually see infrastructure like electricity as a 'carrot' used by governments to keep people happy. In post-2013 Egypt, the government turned it into a 'stick.' Data shows that electricity cuts aren't random; they are strategically targeted at districts that have shown anti-regime sentiment. By plunging 'troublesome' neighborhoods into darkness, the state uses the power grid as a precision tool for repression. It’s a chilling reminder that the 'off switch' in your home can be used as a political weapon to silence dissent. Infrastructure isn't just service; it's a leash.
From the abstract
Authoritarian regimes rely on the provision of services and infrastructure not only to secure legitimacy and co-optation, but also in order to manipulate them as a tool of coercion. This paper introduces the concept of infrastructural repression: the strategic disruption of essential services to raise the costs of mobilization. I focus on one form-punitive withdrawal, the short-term suspension of services following dissent-and develop the argument in post-2013 Egypt under Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. L