The Tragedy of Smart Cities in Egypt. How the Smart City is Used towards Political and Social Ordering and Exclusion
The Tragedy of Smart Cities in Egypt. How the Smart City is Used towards Political and Social Ordering and Exclusion

Summary/Abstract: Smart cities (SCs) are a new and rising phenomenon emerging across the globe. The present article focuses on the possible impact of SCs on socio-political life and structure, and the organisation of the target society. Here, SCs are critically considered as the spaces where people live, work and vote. The aim of the present article is to discuss SCs, and the digital technologies used in SCs, as a possible instrument of social and political ordering and of social exclusion. Drawing on empirical evidence from Egypt, particularly Egypt’s new capital, the article sketches out how the smart city has been used by political and military authorities to socially and politically order and engineer society as well as effectively exclude certain groups, mainly political opponents. Life in the new smart capital has a Janus face. On the one hand, inhabitants of the city have access to excellent services, modern infrastructure, first-class education and health care, and high-tech digital technologies which other Egyptians do not benefit from. On the other hand, these inhabitants are under permanent control and are prisoners of the system. Living segregated, with less freedom than any other Egyptian citizens, they are excluded from natural life in the country and cannot experience any organic development of society.

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