The American University in Cairo School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

The Role of Social Capital in Social Solidarity Initiatives During the Covid-19

Pandemic in Egypt

A Thesis Submitted to the

Public Policy and Administration Department

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Masters of Public Policy

By

Nada Moustafa Baraka

Supervised By Dr. Laila El-Baradei

Professor of Public Administration

Summer 2021
 Acknowledgement

I would like to begin by expressing my deepest appreciation to my thesis supervisor Dr.

Laila El-Baradei for her constant patient support. Furthermore, this thesis dissertation

could not have been possible without the support of my family and friends. I would like to

first thank my husband for believing in me and always pushing me forward. I would also

like to express my gratitude for my mother, father and sisters for constantly inspiring me

and supporting me even when being continents away. I also deeply appreciate the efforts of

the Public Policy and Administration Department (PPAD) at AUC for facilitating the

process as much as possible for us as students.

Lastly, I dedicate this thesis to my baby girl who shared this adventure with me. I hope to

always be able to inspire you and be there to guide you along the way.

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 Table of contents

Acknowledgement 2

Abstract 4

Chapter 1: Introduction & Problem Statement 5

Chapter 3: Literature review 13

Chapter 4: Conceptual Framework 27

Chapter 5: Methodology 34

Chapter 6: Data Findings 42

Chapter 7: Discussion 68

Chapter 8: Conclusion and final remarks 75

References 79

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 Abstract

This qualitative study aimed at studying internal social cohesion in the Egyptian society

during Covid-19 pandemic. In our research the notion of social capital acted as a measure

of community resilience that was present in the Egyptian social solidarity scene during the

peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The focus is on voluntary associations that mobilize

resources to help those in need, often relying on social media for outreach. The main

research question is thus: “To what extent did social solidarity online networks in

Egypt harvest social capital during the Covid-19 pandemic?”. Key informant

interviews discovered that the services provided during Covid-19 pandemic ranged from

Personal Protective Equipement to front-line medical personnel to helping those who

became unemployed. Study findings showed that social capital has played a major role in

establishing social resources, such as trust, norms and values that mobilized networks into

action. The strengthening of social capital has also been characterized by strong online

presence within the domain of social media platforms that empowered these unofficial

networks to act as an informal communication and information channel in times of crisis

and uncertainty of the pandemic. Further research would suggest the need for a more in-

depth assessment of social capital in the Egyptian context, as well as devising further tools

on how to formalize these networks in order to optimize social capital in times of crisis.

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 Chapter 1: Introduction & Problem Statement

Introduction

The on-going COVID-19 health pandemic is an unprecedented event that caused more than

two million deaths to date globally. In Egypt alone more than 190,000 cases have been

announced since March 2020 (Worldmeters, 2021). Countries all over the world have

imposed policies and procedures such as social distancing and nation-wide lockdowns

attempting to curb the number of cases. However, governments were still faced with

problems of resource allocation as healthcare and basic public services were jeopardized

(Trump & Linkov, 2020).

Non-governmental entities began to quickly operate and dedicate their services to helping

those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular was the emergence of social

solidarity initiatives that acted as an opposing force to the devastating effects of the

pandemic. Social solidarity is a core principle that describes collective action based on

shared goals among various groups in society. These initiatives focused on self-

organization in which citizens mobilized resources to roll out projects and services to help

those in need.

To study this phenomenon of the emergence of social solidarity initiatives during the peak

of the Covid-19 pandemic, our research takes the lens of social capital to investigate its

role in the formation of the networks that established the social solidarity initiatives. Social

capital is an encompassing concept that describes the process by which networks are

5
formed between individuals in societal contexts as well as business settings. In our

research we chose to focus on the term as it is a beneficial tool to study the internal social

coherence in a society.

Background Information

Covid-19 pandemic in Egypt

On February 14th, 2020 the first Covid-19 case was announced in Egypt. To date the

number has hit a staggering 161,000 confirmed cases and 8,900 deaths, placing Egypt as

the 63rd most infected country out of 221 total (WHO, 2020, May 12). In an initial

response to the virus the Egyptian government implemented a series of restrictions

including suspending air travel, closing down malls and restaurants, enforcing a night-time

curfew and closing all religious gathering places. A lot of these restrictions were later on

relaxed while some stayed to attempt to limit the number of social gatherings. These

responses were taken during the peak of the first wave of the pandemic in March 2020 (El

Kassas & Medhat, 2020).

Further research has also shown that the actual number of infections might be much higher

than believed by the government. The critical study, done by University of Toronto,

estimated that in early March, when Egypt officially announced only 3 covid-19 pandemic

cases, the actual numbers using epistemological modelling could have been more than

19,000 (Tuite et al., 2020).

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Like a lot of countries facing the deadly disease, Egypt suffered from a crisis in resource

management. Hospitals became overburdened and restrictive measures did not always

seem to be effective. For Egypt it took several weeks to operate all 320 public hospitals to

serve Covid-19 patients. In May, 2020 the government also requested the quick

intervention of privately led medical facilities to support with the on-going crisis (Egypt

Independent, 2020). In December, 2020 a scandal involving a governmental hospital

showed a crash in the oxygen supply of an ICU unit that continued for several hours

leading to the death of several people. (Al-Hlou & El-Naggar, 2020). The doctors

syndicate also became vocal throughout the pandemic about the reality of the situation,

placing pressure on the government about the lack of funding and support from the

government (Brechenmacher et al., 2020).

Non-governmental responses to Covid-19 Pandemic

According to a report by ReliefWeb outlining solidarity in the time of Covid-19, the role of

the non-governmental sector during the peak of the pandemic was vital. Even in settings

where civil society is restricted, entities still met the needs of the people to fill in the gap of

missing resources. Issues like shelter, food security, gender-based violence and much more

became the focus of civil society.

The report outlined key responses of civil society as a third sector in the Covid-19

pandemic such as;

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● Meeting essential needs: such as employment, food and shelter as well as

protective gear to medical personals.

● Sharing information: in times of scarce information sharing by state apparatuses,

this included educating the people about the disease and the dangers.

● Providing remote services: civil society was quick and efficient to utilize the digital

space to provide services whether virtual assistance or sharing of information

● Monitoring and defending human rights: as states imposed emergency laws, many

basic human rights were violated as unjustified incarcerations and police brutality

increased

● Influencing and engaging with states: organizations worked to make states more

accountable for their actions during the pandemic by engaging in dialogue

● Using the legal system: the judicial system in several countries was used to levy

against policies placed by the government that seemed unfair

● Public campaigning: to become the voice of the voiceless during times of crisis

● Protesting under the pandemic: civil society made sure than on-going issues like

climate change and human rights were not forgotten in times of restrictive measures

to protest

● Nurturing community leadership: under the pandemic, many CSOs partnerships

were formed to empower communities and articulate their needs.

● Helping each other: CSOs as well as social solidarity organizations were quick to

provide relief aid to those in need of basic necessities such as food and water.

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Of special importance to this research, were the voluntary associations developed by

neighborhoods and communities aiming to help their own. During the pandemic, a lot of

these communities also utilized social media to turn virtual as physical meetings became

harder. These voluntary associations played various roles during the pandemic, starting

with the provision of groceries to those in isolation to helping in hospitalizing those

inflicted with the virus (ReliefWeb, 2020).

Role of social solidarity action in Egypt during the crisis

Social solidarity action in Egypt enjoys an active role in the formation of civil society. In

fact, Egypt also has one of the most fore standing histories of voluntary associations in the

region (Langohr, 2004). According to a report by Carnegie Europe, civic activism in the

Middle East and North Africa increased exponentially during the covid-19 pandemic. In

response to the on-going crisis, the role of civic action in Egypt has been imperative in

protecting basic human rights, as well as supporting the aftereffects of the covid-19

pandemic. For Egypt, the report documented that civic groups vigorously mobilized during

Ramadan of 2020 to provide meals to those in need after Iftar tables were cancelled

because of covid-19 restrictions. Established local and international non-governmental

organizations also started to repurpose their activities in an attempt to slow down the rapid

deterioration of vulnerable groups. Because of increased restrictions on non-governmental

organizations in Egypt, people took to social media platforms to discuss the pandemic as

well as reach out to those in need. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter saw

unorganized and unled movements by ordinary citizens to voice their concerns on the

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situation. Alas civil society served as a compass for information and communication at

times when little was known about the virus and its effects. When governments attempted

to downplay the dangers of the situation, civil society organizations were quick to establish

online campaigns to raise awareness and create community education about the issue

(Cherif et al., 2020).

Problem statement

Study rationale

The impact of social capital on development has been extensively studied in the literature

(Grootaert and Van Bastelaer, 2002). In times of crisis, social capital has been particularly

highlighted in its ability to establish solidarity amongst distinctive networks (Wang, Haung

and Helliwell, 2013). In addition to this, some studies have also emphasized the usage of

social capital in Non-Profit Organizations (Kilby, 2008; Al-Saggaf and Simmons, 2015;

Vachette et al., 2017). For the MENA region limited research has investigated social

capital such as social trust, socio-economic and religious factors that drives social

solidarity further (Spierings, 2014). With distinctive features to the region’s formation of

social capital, no literature is available on how social capital is utilized in times of crisis in

the region. More often than not, social capital in the literature tends to entertain the

individual or the community often disregarding its role in collective action. As such this

research aims to explore the role of social capital in forming social solidarity

initiatives in Egypt during the crisis of the covid-19 pandemic. The research

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particularly focuses on the social solidarity initiatives, or initiatives that were on the

frontline of delivering aid and services to those directly and indirectly impacted by the

coronavirus. Special attention will also be given to the role of social media in

perpetuating the work of social solidarity initiatives in times of physical distance. The

results of this study will provide an outline for social capital practices in Egyptian civil

society based on the observed outcomes.

A review of the literature (chapter 2) has shown that a lot of studies are available on the

role of social capital on an organizational level as well as on a community/population

level. However, there is a gap on the role of social capital in interpreting individual

behavior for social action. By focusing on a small study sample, this qualitative study aims

to expand on solidarity studies in Egypt in order to suggest best practices as well as inform

the public policy field.

Outlining the main research question and sub-questions

The main research question is thus: “To what extent did social solidarity online

networks in Egypt harvest on social capital during the Covid-19 pandemic?”. Firstly,

we start by defining what is social capital, how it interacts with social solidarity in times of

crisis as well as the newly adapted space of operation that social media allows. The use of

sub questions will also inform decision makers on the overall topic since literature on

practices during the pandemic is still limited. Therefore, the following sub-questions were

also raised while maintaining focus on the central research question:

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● What are the coverage, key gaps and challenges in social solidarity initiatives in

Egypt?

● How has the global pandemic influenced the motives of Egyptians to participate in

social solidarity initiatives?

● What are the challenges in providing help to others through online platforms?

● What are the opportunities of civil-society based action during the Covid-19

pandemic?

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 Chapter 3: Literature review

It is well agreed within the literature that social capital acts as a foundation for civic action

(Lin, 2001; Larsen et al., 2004; Adger, 2003; Ahn & Ostrom, 2001). In a sense social

capital is the “money” that the society owns in order to “cash out” collective actions.

Social solidarity as such is the result of the system of social capital that individuals

accumulate to drive them towards common action. The literature focusing on social capital

and social solidarity provides a framework for measuring social capital during the times of

crisis.

This literature review will explore the theoretical literature relevant to the main research

question as well as the sub questions. A review of main theorists; Bourdieu, Coleman and

Putnam on social capital will provide the theoretical framework which will act as a

backbone for the research to build on. Furthermore, prevailing literature on the role of civil

society during crisis and the use of social media and examination of existing case studies

will be also used in deploying the conceptual framework (chapter 3) and ultimately guide

the data collection and analysis process (chapter 4).

In order to answer the question “How did social solidarity in Egypt harvest on social

capital during the Covid-19 pandemic?”, this literature review will be divided into three

sections; The first will focus on the theoretical framework of social capital and the

manifestation of social capital in times of crisis, the second revolves around the

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transcendent role of social media in social capital and the third is the literature on civil

society in Egypt and their use of social capital and social media.

Theoretical Framework of Social Capital and Social Solidarity

I. Foundations of Social Capital

There is much contention on pinning a one-size-fits-all to the definition of social capital. In

this section, I attempt to provide a snapshot of the different scholar’s contribution to social

capital in what is relevant to this study’s main research question. Primarily is Bourdieu’s

contribution and to the American school of thought as provided by James Coleman and

Robert D. Putnam.

Before Bourdieu’s contribution capital was only introduced in economic theory. In

Bourdieu’s work The Forms of Capital of 1986, he introduces the concept of capital into

four categories; economic, culture, symbolic and social. As such he moves the term from

being exclusively economic possession. He also defines the concept of social capital as

such (as translated from the original French definition):

“The aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a

durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance or

recognition’ (Bourdieu 1986, p. 248)”

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“Made up of social obligations (‘connections’), which is convertible, in certain conditions,

into economic capital and may be institutionalized in the form of a title of nobility” (Bourdieu

1986, p. 243)

James Coleman, American sociologist, in his capacity adds that social capital becomes a

process of exchange between individuals and their respective networks. He adds to

Bourdie’s claim that interests are met through interactions to say that the capital gained can

also lie in the ability to gain resources. Coleman (1988) outlines his theory to focus on the

outcomes produced by social capital rather than just the process. His three forms of social

capital are defined in: 1) obligations, expectations, and trustworthiness of structures, 2)

norms and effective sanctions, and 3) information channels. In obligations and

trustworthiness of structures he stresses that there is a base line of reciprocity between

formed networks based on a mutual understanding of interests. Norms and effective

sanctions elaborate further on elements of trustworthiness to say that

individuals/organizations can rely on one another to reach personal as well as common

goals. which facilitates collective action like teamwork. Lastly information channels

provide the means for gaining social capital. Here Coleman suggests three types of

institutional information channels; organizations that establish new forms of networks to

harness useful information or rely on their existing networks. For Coleman, trust acts as a

mediator between individuals and their networks.

It was American political scientist Robert D. Putnam (1993) who worked on gathering the

work of social capital to appreciate the value of modern-day networks. For Putnam he

defined social capital as ‘‘those features of social organization, such as trust, norms and
15
networks that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions’’ (p.

167). Social capital as such provides a foundation for the community’s growth by

activating social impact (Onyx, 2014).

For Putnam social capital corresponds in two possible ways of participation; bonding and

bridging. Bonding is the process of relating to a common identity through a strong trust on

a local level. On the other hand, bridging relates to the diversity that creates social ties

beyond those of a direct community. Bridging is more significant for individual and

community development as it relates more to the person’s overall social network (more

prevalent in bridging) rather than their core network (more prevalent in bonding)

(Woolcock & Narayan, 2000). Other scholars have also added ‘linking’ as a type of social

capital to highlight the relations with power institutions and decision-making processes

(Jochum, Pratten & Wilding, 2005). All three types of capital may then exist together as it

is not exclusive (Njuki et al. 2008).

II. Literature on Social Solidarity

The literature on defining social solidarity emphasizes the relationship between the

individual and the community. French sociologist Emile Durkheim (1983) laid the

foundations of solidarity within his argument of the division of labor. He defined social

solidarity as “the totality of bonds that bind us to one another and to society, which shape

the mass of individuals into a cohesive aggregate” (p. 331). Chai and Hechter (1998)

conceptualize solidarity as “the extent to which members comply with their corporate

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obligations to contribute to the group’s joint goods” (p. 35-36). Collins (1981) emphasized

that in order to consider solidarity actions, they need to be a series of repeated actions that

are an outcome of common envisioning of the space of society. Therefore, it can be

deduced that all definitions of social solidarity are circled around the principle of repeated

collective action that is based on shared values and beliefs between a community.

Durkheim (1933) also outlined the incentives behind social solidarity by defining two

distinctive sets; mechanical and organic solidarity. The later describes the participation of

individuals sharing similar characteristics where people often join based on sex, race,

religion, etc. The former is participation based on a common goal or interest regardless of

any commonalities. Weber (1947) on the other hand focused on the innate feeling of

wanting to belong. Linking it to a shared identity and interests that group common positive

actions together. Other scholars have attempted to focus on the moral compass of the

individual within their society. In which people’s social consciousness to make sacrifices

for others acts as a cause for action (Bayertz,1998; Wiedgren, 1997; Tranow, 2012).

However, this is not to say that people’s consciousness is always steered in the direction of

others. Personal gains might also be added to the social consciousness (Oorschot, 1998) or

that most actions may very well be inherently selfish even if they seem selfless

(Theodossopoulos, 2016) and personal satisfaction is more often than not derived from

solidarity acts (Kulik, L. et al, 2016).

III. Social Solidarity and its relation with Social Capital

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Civil society organizations and social solidarity initiatives act as a catalyst for social

capital as they enable people to come together to take part in a community activity

(Jochum, Pratten & Wilding, 2005). Schneider (2009) defines organizational social capital

as ‘‘established, trust-based networks among organizations or communities supporting a

particular non-profit, that an organization can use to further its goals’’ (p. 644). Hence

organizational settings harness on existing social capital but do not necessarily create it

(Wollebæk & Strømsnes, 2008).

Solidarity in this sense can be translated in the physical or emotional effort provided by the

presence of social capital. Social solidarity may be well considered as only one aspect of

social capital (Colclough & Sitaraman, 2005; Flap & Völker, 2001; Bell, 2010). In “The

Strength of Weak Ties,” Granovetter (1973) investigates the ability of social capital in

empowering the Italian community during economic hardships. He argues that there are

strong and weak networks. Communities made up of family or friends can indeed survive

longer than that of individual networks or acquaintances. This is because of how well

communication is spread. In retrospect closer ties will mean better communication. And as

such he justifies that individuals “rarely act on mass-media information unless it is also

transmitted through personal ties”. This is supported by Coleman’s (1988) and Putnam’s

(2000) hypothesis around forming social capital; trust is created and conveyed through

shared interests and interpersonal associations. The study would also point out that

networks which are portrayed by bridging social capital, have a more noteworthy

probability to aggregately mobilize assets towards a shared objective (Granovetter, 1973).

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Other scholars have also indicated the heavy presence of bonding networks in times of

crisis (Kapucu, 2006).

III. Social Solidarity in Times of Crisis

In times of crisis social solidarity is highlighted (Daskalaki 2017; Wallevik & Haaland,

2019, Hofmann et al., 2019; Wallaschek, 2019) as well as a parallel solidarity economy

(Kalogeraki, et al., 2018). It is also argued that this sense of ‘collective efficacy’ stimulates

action in times of crisis (Seebauer & Babcicky, 2019). Specific to our context, public

health is a major concern during these times of crisis (Campbell, 2020).

Solidarity studies were of a particular interest to evaluate reactions to austerity measures of

the European welfare states following the 2008 crisis and the hard-hitting consequences

that faced Greece in particular.

Such solidarity studies were by nature influenced by the political climate. As civil society

in low-income settings or troubled democracies at times of crisis acts as a parallel

institution to the government to provide aid (Porta, 2020). For one thing solidarity

initiatives are seen as political resilience from the people as these social solidarity

initiatives show economic resistance and depth of the communal bond. One perspective

asserts that solidarity actions in times of crisis are more important to engage people in the

political consciousness than the humanitarian consciousness (Theodossopoulos, 2016). It

has also been found that social solidarity initiatives that erupt spontaneously during a

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political crisis, strengthened by economic and social crises, engage in a high level of

politicization similar to that of protest groups (Zamponi & Bosi, 2018). It was also

Zamponi and Bosi (2018) who claimed that direct social activity triggers politicization by

working the crisis through three different actions; re-materialization, reterritorialization

and reappropriation. Re-materialization refers to the distribution of material needs, while

welfare assistance generates reterritorialization and reappropriation of public goods against

the disintegration of social ties brought on by the political, social and economic fallouts. It

is also the use of social resources in crisis that help the community adapt better and have

higher resilience (Aldrich, 2011).

Nonetheless one of the main criticisms to the solidarity in times of crisis is that it further

perpetuates the system of inequality that required these acts of solidarity in the first place.

It overshadows the dire need to care for the community’s most vulnerable and allows the

state to depend on the compassion of individuals instead (Vaiou & Kalandides, 2015).

As a result of social solidarity heightened by crisis, the role of civil society becomes

increasingly important. During the Greek economic crisis, the civil society sector had to

rise up by enacting solidarity initiatives to provide immediate relief. Development of the

community was also a goal as mere philanthropic acts by the organizations were not

enough. This included education, health, mental stability and overall well-being projects.

To overcome the problems of financing grassroots social welfare projects in Greece,

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donations were collected from the community to allow these projects to operate (Simiti,

2017).

Furthermore, one particular study (Simsa, 2017) focusing on the migration crisis in 2015 in

Austria concluded that civil society actors were necessary in the integration of Syrian

refugees in the country to avoid political contention with the Austrian citizens. The

qualitative investigation into 111 organizations that deal with asylum seekers has found

that “Without civil society, the whole asylum system would have broken down by now”.

Others have focused on the role of civil society in increasing the political awareness of

people during crises, suggesting that active civic engagement increases mobilization

(Núñez & Boulding, 2014).

2. The Transcendent Role of Social Media

I. Use of Social Media in Bridging Social Capital

Bridging and bonding social capital may indeed influence online civic engagement. The

presence of bonding social capital in online participation helps people achieve their social

and psychological needs. Bridging, on the other hand, would motivate people to take action

on public issues when they share the same attitudes and same beliefs as their social circle

existing online (Putnam, 2000 & Norris, 2001).

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Prevalent scholarly work has placed a special emphasis on social media platforms as a

mode of operation for social impact. A lot of theories attempt to explain the motivations

behind using social media as a tool for civic engagement. The social exchange theory

posits that individuals require interaction in order to fulfill their need of self-belonging and

achieving their non-egoistic goals (Cheshire et al., 2010). Social media has been found to

increase the ethical consumption of individuals as it allows ease and access whether it

being voluntary activities or money contributions (Mano, 2014).

In the case of volunteering, online volunteering has not decreased offline participation but

instead compliments it (Ihm, 2017). Social media has also the potential to mobilize and

appeal to a larger audience of volunteers than those who can be reached through offline

activities (Ackermann & Manatschal, 2018).

II. Social media and Civil Society

Several research papers have supported the role of social media in strengthening civic and

political engagement. This has been especially evident in using social networking sites to

circulate information, present different public opinions and outreach to state officials

(Birzhankyzy & Yesbol, 2017). As a result, social media has changed how citizens

interact, organize and mobilize allowing them to participate in local and international

politics. One particular study set out to discover the extent to which CSOs make use of

social media to influence politics in Sweden. A national survey that received responses

from 2,791 Swedish CSOs as such has shown that social media is in fact used as a means

22
to influence politics in addition to other traditional methods (Scaramuzzino &

Scaramuzzino, 2017).

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have also an important role in building social

capital through the use of social media. However, Waters and Feneley (2013) found that

most NGOs will use their respective websites to outreach to their audience over the social

networking sites. In a study which analyzes the usage of Facebook by 275 Non-Profit

Organizations, most groups were found not to be employing Facebook for multimedia

purposes, which is one of the benefits of the site (Waters et al., 2009). Further studies have

also found that while NGOs use some form of social media like Facebook, Twitter,

Instagram, etc., they use it for informational purposes rather than allowing their users to

become interactive, thereby decreasing the role of NGOs in becoming a source of

community as well as leading to a less lively civil society (Lovejoy and Saxton, 2012).

III. Use of Social Media during Crisis Situations

The role of social media in online civic engagement can be particularly highlighted in

crisis situations. Oh et al. (2014) argue that the use of social media allows distinctive

collective communication in social movements. This collective communication channel

moves social media from the realm of social networking to digital information networks

(Dijck, 2011; Myers et al., 2014).

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Theocharis et al. (2017) studied the use of TutorPool, an online tutoring platform which

began in 2011 during the height of the Greek economic crisis. The online platform

consisted of a website, a facebook page and a twitter hashtag, throughout the course of 3

years, a total of 1500 tutors joined. The study showcased the extent of digital trust

networks in overcoming collective action during crises citing the potential sustainability of

digital communication in volunteer networks.

III. Social Media and Egyptian Civic Engagement

The Arab spring was largely responsible for signaling the literature on the relationship

between social media and collective action (Bimber et al., 2005; Flanagin et al., 2006;

Bennett and Segerberg, 2011). This follows the assumption that in crisis situations people

will look for signals on how to act from their own communities (Bordia 1996, Turner &

Killian, 1987). A prominent example is the use of Facebook and Twitter during the

Egyptian 25th revolution of 2011. In which a strong link between online communities and

offline participation was found (Eaton, 2013).

Collective sense and decision making as such became particularly strong because of the

usage of social media platforms during the revolution (Oh et al., 2015). A result of that was

the strengthening of social capital during the uprising, which allowed for the physical and

digital alliances that created a common shared identity around which Egyptians gathered

(Ali, et al., 2019). In a study conducted by Tufekci (2014) following the removal of

President Hosny Mubarak in February, 2011, it was shown that social media (Facebook &

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Twitter) in the early days of the 25th of January successfully was able to disseminate

information about the aims and goals of the revolution. Prior to the revolution, social

media also had an important role in bridging social capital of opposition groups, who

eventually gained momentum for collective action. This bridging and bonding of social

capital allowed more citizens to join who otherwise would not be motivated for collective

action.

III. Social Media in Times of Covid-19 Pandemic

Limited research has been done to evaluate the impact and influence of social media during

the height of Covid-19 in 2020. For example, one study in the UK has found that 22% of

British people are on community support groups on Facebook. Notably more than a third

of them have joined since the spread of the covid-19 pandemic (The Economist, 2020).

These groups focus on helping vulnerable people reach out to their community to ask for

assistance. Volunteers would then respond by helping the community’s elderly and most

vulnerable to get basic needs like groceries, medicine, etc.

Another study to the Egyptian context indicated that the flow of information to the public

from Egyptian governmental bodies was less than ideal. Through seven main

Dimension, level of effectiveness of the social media communication during COVID-19

was assessed. The study found that the communication strategy needed more addressing to

the public on the issue with more transparency as the number of case reporting seemed to

be skewed. The communication plan also needed to address rumors and fake news .

25
Conclusion

This review of the literature attempted to showcase the importance of social capital in civil

society and specifically for social solidarity. It also evaluated the way in which social

solidarity and the capacity of social solidarity to harvest social capital using the Internet

and social media. The scholarly works examined suggest that social capital is heightened in

solidarity mobilization during times of crisis particularly in bridging social capital. It also

attempts to interpret the reasons behind social solidarity suggesting that the political

consciousness inherently drives the motives of civil society. The role of the internet and

social media becomes of paramount importance as it provides a platform for bridging

social capital and allows for collective communication and sharing of information that

move social movements in crisis situations.

However, as noted little to no research is done to investigate the impact of social capital on

social solidarity in the Egyptian Context especially during turbulent times. As such the

literature would suggest that there is a need to further explore and study how social

solidarity during the Covid-19 pandemic engaged the awareness of the Egyptian people to

harness social capital using social media outreach.

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 Chapter 4: Conceptual Framework

This study attempts to highlight the role of social solidarity in times of Covid-19 pandemic

in Egypt. It explores the role of social capital in building resilience that took place i.e. the

types of networks being formed, who participates in them and how this participation took

place.

One of the main hind sights to the concept of social capital remains that the main founders

of the concept of social capital, namely Bourdieu, Coleman and Putnam did not provide a

theoretical framework. Therefore, I will borrow the work of relevant literature (Häuberer,

2010) that attempts to highlight the social capital theory based on the foundations of the

concept itself. In addition, I will also use the conceptual framework created by the World

Bank on qualitative research on social capital (Dudwick, et al. 2006). The reason for

choosing this model is because it recognizes the inherent complexities in adapting to a

social capital theory.

The social capital Theory

As shown in the literature the ability of a society to overcome crises and challenges is not

only determined by the strength of the state and its institutions, but also on the level of

solidarity among members of society and their ability to face crises. Solidarity is one of the

concepts that overlaps with other models associated with various social phenomena, for

example: the concept of participation, social solidarity, and social capital. In this

27
conceptual framework we outline what social capital theory is and how it interacts with

relevant notions.

Because of the lack of an epistemological approach to social capital, this has led to the use

of the concept in many different fields including that of business and psychology.

However, there seems to be agreement on common foundations of the theory which gave

way to attempt to theorize it.

In her book Social Capital Theory: Towards a Methodological Foundation, Julia Häuberer

analyzes the term as provided by the foundational thinkers Bourdieu and Coleman. She

then worked her way up by using the work of Putnam, Burt and Nan Lin. She deduced that

among all thinkers with distinct differences, the definition of the term agrees that “social

capital is the resources embedded in relationships among actors that benefit purposive

action”. This contains two important factors; social networks and resources.

As such, the theory focusing on the role of social networks and resources explains that

social capital is a structural asset of networks with the character of a private and public

good. It emerges in the relations of individuals or collectives and spills over into cultural

societal aspects like generalized trust and norms of reciprocity, which function as both

precondition and output of social capital. social capital is produced in both open (bridging)

and closed (bonding) structures, as well as in formal, informal, institutionalized and

noninstitutionalized ones. Bonding structures as well as structures with a small network

size and small range/diversity are most useful for actions with an expressive and

28
cooperative character, and bridging structures and structures with a high network size and

high range/diversity are most useful for actions with an instrumental or competitive

character. The theory also assumed that in some cases social capital can have negative

effects. As well as declares that the access to social capital or social resources is unequal. It

depends on collective assets like economy and technology but also culture (including

cultural social capital) and individual assets such as ethnicity, gender and social standing.

The below figure is a summary of the theory as imagined by Häuberer (2010)

Figure 1.1: Social Capital Theory, source: Häuberer (2010)

29
The conceptual framework as developed by the World Bank

Previous research has shown the difficulty of using statistical analysis of social capital due

to its multi-dimensional complexity (Scrivens & Smith, 2013). In alignment with my

qualitative study, the guide by the World Bank on qualitative research on social capital

(Dudwick, et al., 2016) provides an important point of analysis. The framework as such is

divided into six dimensions;

Dimension 1: Groups and networks

Dimension 2: Trust and solidarity

Dimension 3: Collective action and cooperation

Dimension 4: Information and communication

Dimension 5: Social cohesion and inclusion

Dimension 6: Empowerment and political action

Other literature (Kilders, 2017) also suggests that these six dimensions can be divided

under two categories; 1) those that use social capital to acquire resources, which follows

the same line of thought as Bourdieu, 2) and those that focus the interaction and

collaboration of community members, as imagined by Putnam. The figure below shows the

aforementioned categories.

30
 Figure 1.2: Dimensions of Social Capital, Source: Kilders, 2017

A. Groups and networks: the first dimension works on analyzing the nature of the

networks formed. What does the relationship look like between the individuals,

diversification of the group in terms of characteristics and the leadership dynamics.

It also attempts to determine what type of networking it falls under (bonding,

bridging or linking).

B. Trust and solidarity: This element of social capital alludes to the degree to which

individuals feel they can depend on people around them like family members,

neighbors, etc. and how much these circles are willing to help them. In some cases,

trust mirrors an essential reliance on set up contacts.

C. Collective action and cooperation: in-depth evaluation of trust and solidarity, a

closer look at how people work together and how they solve problems

preemptively.

31
 D. Information and communication: This is especially important for infringed

communities to have their voices heard. Measures what kind of communication is

used as well as how these channels are utilized.

E. Social cohesion and inclusion: showcases the depth of the social bonds and their

ability to control group membership. These relationships are demonstrated through

activities that “increase solidarity, strengthen social cohesion, improve

communication, provide learning for coordinated activities, promote civic-

mindedness and altruistic behavior, and develop a sense of collective

consciousness.”

F. Empowerment and political action: assess to what degree organizations and

individuals from their respective networks can accomplish, be happy with and feel

an individual adequacy to produce impact on an individual or community level.

Devising a framework by the author for social capital theory in Egypt during the

pandemic

To investigate the role of social capital during the Covid-19 pandemic in Egypt, the author

has borrowed from both the theoretical framework of the Theory of Social Capital as

devised by Häuberer (2010) and the conceptual framework developed by the World Bank

(Dudwick, et al., 2016). The conceptual framework is guided by the interaction of the

theory with the six dimensions suggested by the World Bank.

32
Figure 1.3: Conceptual framework as derived by the author

33
 Chapter 5: Methodology

Research design

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the role of social solidarity in Egypt during the

Covid-19 pandemic in terms of harnessing social capital. This research will be based upon

a qualitative approach. In comparing both qualitative and quantitative data, quantitative

data will tend to gather numerical values to deduce trends and obtain statistical

interpretation such as mean, mode, median, etc. Quantitative data is often used with mass

surveying in which numerical values make it easier to make deductions. Qualitative data

on the other hand focuses more on human experiences and gives more insight to a specific

question. This type of data in turn is not used for a large sample, instead it focuses on

gaining quality interviews with the chosen study interest. Public policy analysis has also

pointed to the use of qualitative data in recent years in an “interpretive turn”, i.e.

attempting to interpret results instead of having only numerical assets which deployed

more use of qualitative analysis (Yanow, 2007).

In terms of the selected topic, it has also been found that qualitative research will most

likely yield fruitful interpretations when it comes to studying social capital (Dudwick et,

al.). This is because social capital exists as a complex relationship between people and so

qualitative methods will allow the main researcher to observe the nuances of social capital

during the data collection. Furthermore, quantitative data is in general less effective in

capturing context and process. In our case quantitative data will not capture the reasons for

34
initiating the social solidarity initiatives nor help in understanding the socio-economic

context that prevailed during the instigation of these movements.

Since the research question attempts to investigate the actors involved and their

motivations, key-informant data collection was used as part of the research design, as it

helped form an in-depth investigation into the issue and to propose effective

recommendations. Key-informant interviews also have a special importance in identifying

complex social phenomena such as social capital. In this research, ten key-informants

were chosen to cross-examine the phenomenon by grouping different manifestations of

social solidarity that were established during the Covid-19 pandemic and then interviewing

key people in the initiatives in an attempt to grasp a holistic image of the situation. Once I

have recruited the interviewees, I commenced on an exploratory approach for each

initiative by identifying the questions that link to the main research questions.

Selection of research sample

To select the interviewees, I first did a quick scan online of projects relevant to my

research on social media and the internet. Following that I outreached to my network to

find relevant contacts. I also conducted a stakeholder mapping outlining the relevant key

decision-makers to help with the selection of interviewees. Going through the inclusion

and exclusion criteria, I eliminated any irrelevant subjects accordingly. I then began to

contact the individuals at hand by personal one-to-one email/social media communication,

no advertised recruitment was used.

35
In a quick overview of the services offered by different actors from March to August of

2020, 32 service providers were found. This date was selected as being the height of the

first wave of covid-19 pandemic to the knowledge of the researcher. The actors ranged

from fully operational NGOs of 50+ employees to unstructured youth-driven social

solidarity initiatives consisting of two or more members. The services also varied from

providing direct aid like food and shelter to enhancing better job opportunities for those

who lost their jobs during the crisis. The surveyed services in detail are as follows:

● Producing facemasks and delivering them to health care workers in need

● Providing healthy nutritious meals to those in isolation due to infection or

suspected infection of Covid-19

● Delivery of basic food commodities coinciding with Ramadan and a shortage of

food in the country

● Awareness raising about the disease and prevention through online platforms as

well as leaflets and sessions (online and offline)

● Delivery of oxygen tubes and oxygen measuring tools to those in respiratory

distress, at home or in health care facilities

● Online medical consultations; psychological, psychological and medical assistance

to special needs groups (visually, auditory or mentally impaired)

● Helping in the hospitalization of those in need when hospitals refused admissions

due to increased influx of patients

● Proper washing (Taghseel) and burial of deceased corona patients

36
Sample, inclusion and exclusion

The population of interest for this study are those who founded or participated in social

solidarity initiatives in the height of the pandemic. The sample size was representative of

both men and women in which 3 men and 7 women were selected. The age of participants

ranges from 25-45 years of age. I also eliminated the initiative/CSO if the person declined

to participate in the study, or if the person was younger than 15 years of age.

Data collection

The scope of this research included two main components or methods of data collection:

desk review and primary data collection.

Desk review consisted of qualitative data compilation for the social solidarity initiatives

that were interviewed . I first began by reviewing all available information about them

online. This included examining their respective Facebook group/page, any other online

presence (instagram, twitter, website, etc.), as well as any mention about them in recent

news.

Primary data collection was gathered using semi-structured interviews that were

conducted with the founders, co-founders and operation heads behind the initiatives. The

interview questions (appendix A) were determined according to the main research

question. When needed, the interview questions were posed in Arabic, whilst I took down

37
the notes in English and later on translated the answers in English. Each interview of the

ten lasted between 30-60 minutes. Both oral and written consent was obtained for the

recording of the interviews and using the information provided by the interviewees for the

purposes of this research. During the interviews, notes were taken followed by

transcription later on. Due to the exploratory nature of the research, further questions were

asked during the interview than those initially planned.

In supplementation to the interviews, the initiatives were asked to give extra

documentation that would be appropriate to the examination. In total 6 records

(presentations, brochures, raw data, excel sheets, etc.) were collected which were utilized

in the data analysis in addition to openly accessible data (about us, posts, multimedia, etc.)

The population of interest for this study are those who founded or participated in social

solidarity initiatives in the height of the pandemic. The sample size was representative of

both men and women in which 4 men and 6 women were selected. The age of participants

ranges from 25-45 years of age. I also eliminated the initiative/CSO if the person declined

to participate in the study, or if the person was younger than 15 years of age.

Overall, 6 initiatives were examined and 10 investigative interviews were conducted.

Because of ethical issues and any potential danger from participating in the study,

pseudonyms were used to protect the identity of the interviewee.

38
 The below table shows a summary of the respective interviewees.

Table 1. Summary of Key informants with pseudonyms

Numbe Key informant(s) Role Age

1. Mark Co-founder of initiative that delivered face masks to 32

hospitals in need

2. Rana Responsible for volunteers of the same initiative that 25

delivered facemasks

3. Farida Co-founder of initiative that delivered home cooked meals 29

to corona patients

4. Nadine Co-founder of the same initiative that delivered home 28

cooked meals to corona patients

5. Shams Founder of an initiative that delivered relief aid to corona 27

patients like money, food, shelter, hospitals, etc.

6. Asmaa Co-founder of an initiative that delivered relief aid to corona 38

patients like money, food, shelter, hospitals, etc.

7. Haitham Co-founder of online facebook group that provided support 44

for the covid-19 pandemic for its community

39
8. Merna Co-founder of initiative that taught school children proper 26

hygiene

9. Mohanad Co-founder of initiative responsible for environmental 32

awareness

10. Omar Co-founder of initiative responsible for environmental 33

awareness

Data analysis

Using the conceptual framework as guidance, the data analysis allowed me to investigate

the sub questions outlined in the framework. The qualitative research was also backed up

by literature-based scientific evidence about social solidarity in times of crises. The data

analysis also depended greatly on the quality of available data. However, it mainly focused

on best international practices when it comes to social solidarity and social capital theory.

This has helped in comparing the qualitative data against a certain backbone of analysis for

the desk review. Using the transcription and notes of the interviews, the important findings

were classified with other qualitative data and desk review material as well as aligned with

them in the conceptual framework.

40
Ethical issues

Since the research subjects are human, ethical issues in the study were those pertaining to

data privacy. All interviews were asked beforehand what they would like to go on the

record and all the necessary written and oral approvals for recording the interviews were

obtained. Anonymity of persons was also maintained when individuals did not wish to be

recognized as well as data that participants preferred not to disclose.

According to AUC policy, the researcher has completed the Social & Behavioral Research

course by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program). In addition,

the research proposal and all interview questions were subjected to the Institutional Review

Board (IRB) to protect those who are part of the research whether directly or indirectly. As

such all possible ethical issues pertaining to human subjects were minimized throughout

the research project.

On 15th of December, the IRB successfully reviewed and approved the research proposal

as submitted by the main researcher. As such data collection commenced to the knowledge

of the ethics committee of the American University in Cairo.

41
 Chapter 6: Data Findings

The data collection has shown the nature of the social capital of the sample study that

allowed for a wider outreach and bigger impact of services. As such, this chapter will map

the findings of the qualitative data collected as well as analyze them according to the

conceptual framework and literature. For the purposes of historic documentation, this

chapter as such provides two sections; the first is a quick narrative overview of the services

offered by the study sample. The second is illustrating the results as part of the conceptual

framework providing more reporting of the qualitative data.

Documentation of the study sample

As shown in the methodology section, the study sample included 10 key informants from

six initiatives. Below is a summary of the services offered by the initiatives during the

Covid-19 pandemic in Egypt. For the purposes of privacy and security, the names of the

initiatives were not disclosed.

1. Face mask initiative

This initiative focused on providing Personal Protective Equipment, mainly face shields, to

first-line medical teams in medical institutions including hospitals and clinics. The

initiative was able to fundraise more than 100,000 Egyptian Pounds in February, 2020 and

started operations the next month. The core team consisted of 3 founding members and two

42
partner members with more than 50 volunteers who helped throughout the project cycle.

The core activity of the initiative was to manually assemble the components of a protective

face shield using raw materials purchased. According to one of the co-founders interviews,

by September, 2020 they have made around 45,000 face shields that got delivered to 5

governorates in Egypt with an outreach of more than 40 medical institutions. The medical

institutions that were contacted were mainly those in need of protective gear.

2. Food meals initiative

At the beginning of the surge of the pandemic in Egypt in March of 2020, a lot of people

diagnosed with the Covid-19 virus were stigmatized. As a result, when they contracted the

virus they were not able to readily have access to food. Even supermarkets that delivered in

the area knew of the houses that were infected and refused to deliver any groceries. As a

result, the food initiative was created to provide readily available healthy meals to Covid-

19 patients. The initiative officially started in June of 2020 and launched its facebook

campaign to reach both beneficiaries and volunteers to distribute the meals. According to

one of the co-founders, the page overnight had 5,000 likes. The process was that the person

in need would fill out a form asking basic questions like when they got infected and some

of their personal information like the address. The closes designated kitchen would then

deliver the meals pre-packed for the duration of at least a week. The meals would include

breakfast, lunch and dinner. Volunteers closeby would be the main point of contact. The

estimated number of people helped at the time of data collection in September 2020 was

6,000 families. The funds also depended heavily on personal donations from close family

43
and friends of the founders. To them this was easier to collect money to not get into

financial or legal burdens associated with collecting donations from external sources.

3. Children informational workshops

This initiative was very passionate about making sure that children understand the disease

itself and the consequences of contracting it. As such, it provided basic informative

workshops to children from the ages of 4-12 to learn about the virus and how to have good

hygiene practices to prevent getting it. By the time that the Coivid-19 wave started in

Egypt the initiative was providing workshops to children from December 2019 on different

topics like acceptance and bullying prevention. As such, when Covid hit they felt a

personal responsibility to focus on hygiene practices. They moved their workshops online

and began partnering with different schools and kindergartens to provide their learning

material. They also intensified their advocacy campaigns using their Facebook page to

create awareness like proper hand washing, wearing masks and maintaining social

distance. Their posts were very popular, sometimes gaining more than 10,000 likes and

shares.

4. Facebook Covid support group

The activities that took place here were primarily only on Facebook, which shows the

power of social media. The group created in June 2020 hit 6.2 thousand participants by the

time of the data collection in September 2020. The group members are all part of the same

44
academic institution which was the main criteria for getting accepted in the group, where

you had be either an undergraduate student, graduate or an alumni. The group primarily

worked by people writing their immediate request or question regarding the Covid virus.

One of the three founders or one of the group members as such would connect with their

immediate network of physicians/hospitals to provide needed assistance. At the start of the

increase in number of cases, Egypt was notorious for having low availability of beds in

both governmental and private hospitals. As such, in the beggining the group focused on

finding beds for severely ill patients through each other’s personal network. The group was

also key in providing information about the virus and combating the spread of fake news.

People would also often ask about the right medication or the correct isolation and

quarantine procedures to which certified physicians would answer. Beyond this, the group

also provided mental support and well-being as a lot of people didn’t know what to expect

with the virus or were affected mentally by the burden of seeing loved ones affected.

5. Aid delivery initiative

The Covid-19 virus did not only directly affect the health of the Egyptians. The restrictions

done to restrict the spread of the virus caused a lot of people, especially low-income groups

to lose their jobs. The aid delivery initiative worked hard on providing any needed support

that affected individuals and families as a result of the virus. These miscellaneous activities

included providing people with direct employment, food boxes, oxygen tanks, face masks,

etc. Also created as an online Facebook page, they were mainly a youth cluster of 2

founders and countless volunteers operating all over Egypt. The activities also started from

45
March of 2020 from delivering direct medical assistance such as oxygen tanks and

medicine to the needy. But over time their activities expanded to include seeking

employment for low-income groups, giving direct financial assistance, providing hot meals

and food boxes, etc. They also developed a special interest to help African refugees after

discovering that they had limited access to healthcare because of their legal status in the

country. From that point, they also began to collaborate with UNICEF Egypt to provide

medical assistance or informational sessions for these refugees. The estimated number of

people helped were around 15,000 including individuals and families alike.

6. Initiative responsible for environmental awareness

This initiative is an example of deferred services from the original aim of the organization.

When they first started in January, 2020 their initial aim was to provide environmental

awareness to people and to showcase the extent of environmental degradation made by

individuals. However, 2 months later the Corona has been officially in full swing in Egypt

and so they felt it was important to designate their activities and networks to that. Both of

the two founders have extensive experience and networking in the non-profit sector. They

chose to use that by disseminating information about the Covid-19 virus. Specifically, they

did that by creating an online interactive questionnaire if someone suspected that they have

the virus. The form would then ask them about their symptoms to determine if they are

indeed suspected to have the virus. They also created a chatbot to answer people’s

questions about the virus. This project was very successful in reaching more than 5,000

people according to the founders.

46
Data collection

The data collected falls in line with the use of social capital during times of crisis and the

role of social solidarity in empowering the community. Due to a lack of literature on the

use of social capital in Egypt in times of crisis, the literature on the use of social capital

elsewhere will be used.

The data belonged to the ten respondents from the sample study as illustrated in the

methodology chapter. Following the conceptual framework, the main data findings will be

thematic to the six dimensions of social capital. The data collected has shown that social

capital had a significant role in formulating social solidarity during the Covid-19

pandemic in Egypt. The social capital theory as such can be applicable to deduce what

was the specific role of social capital in these initiatives.

As outlined in the conceptual framework, the data findings will focus on addressing the

following subtopics.

1. Groups and networks

2. Trust and solidarity

3. Collective action and cooperation

4. Information and communication

5. Social cohesion and inclusion

6. Empowerment and political action

47
Groups and networks

Putnam (2000) describes the three types of grouping or networks that can be formed as

either bonding, bridging or linking. Bonding refers to the benefits and resources shared

within a homogenous group together. I.e. groups that share the same characteristics, race,

familial ties, etc. On the other hand, bridging happens when connections happen over

different cleavage like race, religion, organizations, etc.

During the data collection phase, the participants were asked how they formed their

networks during the pandemic crisis. All participants in the study have indicated that their

work in response to the pandemic crisis was initiated within their own network that then

expanded to other networks because of the urgency of the situation i.e. from bonding to

bridging. This was especially evident for those who organized social solidarity initiatives .

It was also clear that all of bridging, bonding and linking was apparent in the network

establishment. According to the literature all three types of capital may exist

simultaneously in a community, and each may play a different function in helping to

improve the outcomes of different projects or interventions (Njuki et al. 2008).

The author has deduced that all of the primary data indicates that although the networks

started with bonding (working with a close circle), they soon turned to bridging social

capital. This change of behaviour was because of the nature of working in a crisis like the

pandemic. As argued by Kapucu (2006), existing networks of a bonding nature will have a

48
positive effect in managing emergency situations because of the ease of communication

systems and trusting relationships.

One prominent example is the food initiative that was able to deliver 8,000 meals to 2,600

Covid-19 cases across Cairo in the span of three months (March-June, 2020).

Starting out with just two founders, the group grew in only 3 months to consist of 5 co-

founders and around 1,000 volunteers who worked round the clock to cook the meals and

deliver them to the people in a span of one day. They would receive the request via a form

that people filled online or by phone call in which the necessary information was collected

about the case. This form was accessible to the public via their social media page. The

volunteers were then split into groups according to the geographical area to make things

more organized. By doing that they put people who were familiar with their own areas.

This was especially useful for remote and poor areas where the founders did not have

access unless we had someone from the neighborhood.

Even though their activities started within their own network and circle of influence, the

food initiative had to outreach to others because of the high demand they met.

At first we started with individuals cooking the meals at home, but as the number of

requests grew, we really needed to rely on big scale kitchens that are able to

deliver food with an ability to mass produce. No matter how much we relied on

individuals, one household can only cook so much (Nadine).

49
According to (Woolcock & Narayan, 2000), bridging social capital allows further

distribution of knowledge and resources more so than bonding. This is because actors will

simultaneously be a part of numerous networks at once which allows for sharing of

information and distribution of physical and social capital. Their research focused on the

reciprocation between different organizations and different networks that share a bridging

nature.

Others also utilized their existing network to make their services work. Evidently was the

facemask initiative that was able to produce around 45,000 masks manually and deliver

them to approximately 40 hospitals across the country.

With the use of our network we found a lot of people working in 3D printing and

laser cutting. Our network also helped us connect with other organizations that

helped to deliver the masks and help us with volunteers. We simply didn't have the

manpower and the network was very useful in reaching remote areas that we

wouldn't have reached on our own. We managed to reach 5 governorates because

of this.

The founder himself, Mark, was also able to have a far outreach because of his own

network.

50
 Being from Alexandria, I was able to network with university professors in the

Medical universities who knew the hospitals with shortage. It was simply easier for

me to connect because I knew the hospitals they were talking about as well as knew

people on the inside that could help get the masks in. This is also true for all of our

volunteers and founders who knew someone inside a hospital or medical institution

that made things easier. (Mark)

In another instance, he used his network to be able to fundraise and get an appropriate

amount of funds to help push the activities forward.

I work in [X], when I started the initiative I approached them with my idea.

Because they know me and know my work. They gave me a fund of 100 thousand.

This was a huge amount which helped gather the material for approximately

15,000 masks. (Mark)

Special groups also depended on the homogeneity of their networks and creating a closed

circle. This was very evident in the Covid support facebook group as this group depended

only on having an affiliation to a private university, whether being an undergraduate,

graduate, staff or alumni. The group, which now consists of 4,700 members, depends on an

individual being a part of the university whether being an undergraduate, graduate student,

staff or alumni.

51
According to one of the co-founders, Haitham, the main purpose of the group is to build a

supportive community where people ask for medical advice and raise awareness about the

pandemic.

We work on giving advice through our network of doctors. All the co-founders have

an extensive network of physicians. And so when someone posts their question,

people will automatically tag the right person to answer. We also help people find

a bed in a hospital if needed. During a pandemic this service is extremely rare and

we do it with no cost. We simply feel like it is our duty to give back to our

community at [the university] (Haitham)

When asked about collaborating with governmental institutions, respondents stated that

they tried without success. The reasons were not always consistent but ranged from lack of

trust of government officials to needing the heightened bureaucracy to join forces with the

government. It can be considered that the pandemic created a cluster of organizations that

supported each other in lieu of the government. As proposed by Espia and Fernandez

(2015), the networking between government to non government is not always common due

to its difficulty.

In the aspect of groups and networks we saw diverse strategies of bonding and bridging to

allow in multiple stakeholders and diversify networks. It can be deduced that the

continuous process of bonding and bridging between direct and indirect actors allowed for

easier cooperation and optimized the use of social links between different kinds of

52
stakeholders. On the scope of the support cluster created during the pandemic, resilience

building has counted on offering several different services such as food security and

medical assistance. Furthermore, we saw that because networks were largely informal this

allowed more flexibility and outreach that is not committed to donor agendas. Some were

focused on providing a specific aid delivery while others were more inclusive to have

wider outreach and greater output like relief aid initiative. We also saw differences in the

number of participants ranging from 5 to 1,000. This diverse cluster allows for more

inclusion and cooperation of actors to have the right plan of action that serves both

personal and communal objectives.

Trust and Solidarity

Trust is an important aspect to understanding social capital as a concept. According to

Putnam when there is greater trust within a community or group, there is greater

cooperation and a circle of trust is established that is reinforced by reciprocity between

people. Furthermore, social capital utilizes the social resources like trust to take decisive

action during crises, deploying adaptive responses to stressful situations and promoting

psychological well-being both for individuals and the collective (Aldrich, 2011).

According to the social capital theory, individuals and organizations both benefit

personally from their network. Because of trust, social capital encourages the reciprocation

of interests within a given network. For individuals, there are expectations that these

interests will be fulfilled to a certain extent. Sometimes these interests might be basic

53
needs while others can be more complex. For this relationship of reciprocity to happen,

trust between the network must be established.

In our research when they referenced trust, respondents were well aware of its role in their

community and within their own established network. They also all indicated that because

of the pandemic, people will trust those they know more. For example, the Covid-19

support group was established based on the presumption that the shared network implies

they can trust one another.

We wanted to do something for the community of [the university] ...for the friends,

for the family and the alumni. We think of this community as more of a family and

family has to support each other in times of need and to be reliable as much as

possible. We thought that this [group] would be an extension of other existing

groups that cater to the people of this [university] (Haitham).

Mohanad also backed this up by attributing the extent of the success of their initiative to

how much people know and trust them.

In times of crisis there is a crisis of trust. Because people know us and know our

activities, they trusted what we had to say about the given situation as well as how

they could contribute. They simply trusted the information we were giving out.

(Mohanad)

54
In our study, trust also affected the pattern of donations especially for social solidarity

initiatives who had to rely on their close circle to be able to entrust people to give them

money.

It was hard at first because we had to spend from our money to fund the initiative.

No one really knew us so no one would trust us to give us money. Bit by bit, our

friends started to recognize our efforts and give us some financial aid. We are still

mainly depending on our family and friends as the main source of finance and

those who know us (Shams).

The same was applicable for the initiative that delivered home cooked meals to corona

patients where they depended mainly on the funding of their network.

All the donations came from our family and friends. Not only did that save us legal

hassle, it was also easier to collect from people we know whom we trust and they

trust us in return. We feared anyone would collect in our name with no verified

source of where the money will go (Farida).

For Nadine, the other co-founder of the food initiative, she felt that the problem of

donation was directly correlated to their official recognition as an entity.

Our biggest challenge was not being officially registered, this also created a lack of

trust from the people seeking help and limited our financial capabilities. But still

55
 becoming official required a lot of steps and paperwork, we simply didn't have the

time. We were in crisis and we needed to act as soon as possible (Nadine).

For the homogenous Facebook Covid support group, trust was important to keep the

members invested in what the founders had to contribute and the support they were giving

out.

We have a strict rule that no advertising is allowed on the group. This is how we

gain trust of people and to be always honest. We all agreed that this group should

not benefit anyone in specific (Haitham).

The results show us that for the founders trust was an integral part of maintaining their

relationship with their established network. This feature of trust also resonates with the

literature that describes civil society as a third sector separate from the government and

able to mobilize and utilize the trust of citizens when the common trust in the government

is shortsighted (Porta, 2020).

Earlier literature has suggested that civil society in Egypt posits a public sphere of sharing

trust between networks. Singerman (2006) specifically imagines that trust in civil society is

the reproduction and representation of familial values of Egyptian society. It is informal

networks that promote the notion of “civility” and trust in institutions rather than the

traditional understanding of civil society of political parties or media outlets.

56
Collective action and cooperation

According to the literature collective action and cooperation expands social capital through

increasing the social resources discussed above such as trust, norms and networks.

Collective efficacy is specific to the society’s ability to use these social resources to self-

organize. Seebauer & Babcicky (2019) argue that collective efficacy, social support and

citizen groups stimulate protective action in times of crisis. Further research also supports

the claim that community mobilization is activated in response to public health policies

(Campbell, 2020).

This was in line with our study as the data showed that the sharing of the same beliefs,

trust and norms allowed for collective efficacy. One prevalent theme throughout the study

was the organization of members within the given network whether through formation of

team members or of gathering volunteers. From the interviews it can be deduced that

collective action was heightened during the pandemic. The reasons from the results can be

summarized in two points; first is people had more time to dedicate as there was a

nationwide lockdown. The second is because of an increase in social consciousness that

encouraged people to act when the Covid cases were on the rise in Egypt.

This all started because [the founder] was depressed about the situation and she

wanted to do something about it. As her friend we started to brainstorm until we

came up with the idea to deliver hot meals to the corona patients. We decided to

57
 create a facebook group at 5am, by the next day it had reached thousands of

members. We had no idea it would grow this fast. (Nadine)

Many have also narrated that the impact would be this big.

I didn't imagine that it would have this [initiative] and would have a snowball

effect. It just started with the idea then more people joined and then these people

were able to get funding and volunteers and so on. I really felt like it formulated a

beehive. (Mark)

When we put up a form online for people to sign up, we had no idea it would reach

over 5,000 replies in a few days. (Omar)

Also a lot of the results spotted a recurrence in the word and synonyms of a ‘snowball

effect’ especially for social solidarity initiatives . In which interviewees were surprised that

their actions had a ripple effect in a very short period of time.

People were interested to help which grew the initiative further. Then these people

were inspired to do the same and deliver food to the Corona patients in their area.

The snowball effect started only in Cairo but then expanded to other governorates

and people started to mimic our activities. This ripple effect for me was considered

an achievement. (Farida)

58
This was also reaffirmed by Nadine, the other co-founder of the food initiative.

I would say that our biggest accomplishment was seeing the people we helped

starting to want to give back and help in return. They would call us when they got

better to ask if there was any food to be cooked or delivered. When we actually

didn't have cases or already had the help we need they would become upset

(Nadine).

Collective action and cooperation was also apparent in volunteering patterns throughout all

the interviews. 9 out of 10 interviewees have confirmed that they had no problem

recruiting volunteers throughout the pandemic.

Rana, who was responsible for the volunteers in the mask initiative has confirmed that

because they are an organization working with their familiar volunteers, this made it easier

to attract more people.

When it comes to volunteers especially, people were always motivated to join. I

remember one day when we had to assemble 10,000 masks no less than 50

volunteers were lying on the floor creating an assembly line. We got done in less

than a day which was truly remarkable (Rana).

However, two of the interviewees have stated that it was difficult to have a pattern of

sustainable participation.

59
 Once the number of cases started to decrease and the lockdown eased, people

began to get back to their normal lives. We couldn't really count on the number

even though at the beginning we had a very large number. (Farida)

Information and communication

This indicator was prevalent for all of the interviews. It can be deduced that it positively

affected social capital during the crisis. The role of technology in this was strong as all the

formation studied began to utilize social media applications like facebook groups and

pages as well as whatsapp for instant communication.

For the food initiative, the sharing of information that occurred on social media was the

trigger to start the initiative.

For us, facebook really encouraged us to act. We couldn't have found out that there

was a problem that needed to be addressed if it wasn't for the facebook posts. We

saw a lot of stories about people being stigmatized for having the covid-19

pandemic in the beginning. Both restaurants and supermarkets refused to deliver

food. Not knowing what they were dealing with and lack of information, their

neighbours and close family also refused to help. When we read the stories we

knew that we had to act. (Farida)

60
Other than being a trigger, the food initiative also received a lot of the requests through

social media. People would fill in the form online which was available on their facebook

page. They also received several requests via their personal facebook inbox. They also

used their social media presence to share posts and stories.

We couldn't have done anything without the use of social media, it's how we

connected with everyone from the kitchens to the volunteers. It's how the co-

founders found each other and how we had our outreach to be able to help. Even

when TV shows wanted to host us, they contacted us using Facebook. We also got

all of our information from social media: what hospitals are in need. When there

was a physical lockdown, it was the only way we could have reached people.

(Nadine)

Nonetheless Nadine shared that there was a downside to social media as it opens up a wide

communication channel, it also decreases the trust existent within the given network.

The problem is we didn't know those filling out the form to receive food, we always

warned our volunteers not to trust the cases too much. Sometimes we discovered

fake cases, people claiming they had corona and needed food when in fact that

wasn't true. The problem here was the lack of monitoring from our side because of

time constraint. We also knew that there is 1% that there might be fraud but

because we had a bigger aim we accepted this. If I spent 2-3 days on every case to

verify, it simply wouldn't have worked out. (Nadine)

61
Others also used their social media presence to spread information regarding the disease.

This is an example in the teaching children initiative.

We focused on advocating through social media on preventive measures against

covid 19 by having posts that raise awareness about the disease. We also held

online workshops with the children on preventive measures. Sometimes our

outreach for the posts would reach 10,000 which is a large number. (Merna)

For the initiatives having a strong established social media presence meant they can

communicate with their audience better.

I see that social media has helped establish a stronger trust between citizens and

civil society. We already have an active facebook page but because of it individuals

were able to outreach with us when they needed help. (Mohanad)

The Covid support group was perhaps the most prominent example of perpetuating social

capital online. As their presence was only online with no physical assistance.

Social media fit perfectly in times of social distancing. We as a group used social

media to connect with our circle locally and those abroad. I feel that to remain

socially connected and distant at the same time is the definition of social media.

(Haitham)

62
Using communication tools like whatsapp was also important for the sustainability of the

initiatives. All initiatives reported that they used whatsapp to organize internally with each

other. They would create whatsapp groups for the volunteers with the co-founders and also

use it to update each other on the cases.

Social cohesion and inclusion

In organizational studies, social cohesion and inclusion tends to affect how programs and

services are being delivered to the client or end-user. The literature as such has

differentiated between social capital and social cohesion to say that social cohesion is the

process and norms that generate solidarity and connectedness of a group. While social

capital refers to the resources shared within the group.

According to Putnam (2000) bonding social capital tends to increase social cohesion and

inclusion between networks. As discussed earlier, a lot of the networks built in response to

the pandemic were of a bonding nature. This would lead us to believe that there was high

social cohesion and inclusion in the response teams.

However, the author tends to conclude that social cohesion and inclusion was not

influential during the pandemic response teams. It was only relevant in two examples

which showed an attempt to include marginalized and outcast groups. Others seemed to

63
work mass scale and did not differentiate or attempt to seek specific groups in need that

would be otherwise neglected.

The first instance that was apparent was for the aid delivery initiative where the founder

explained how they included different segments of society that they felt were overlooked

during the crisis at its peak.

Shortly after we began our services we discovered that the immigrants and

especially illegal ones from Africa were excluded from getting any help. Rarely

anyone helped them and they were the ones who needed the most help because

there are a lot of undocumented immigrants. Without the right documents they

really couldn't get any help like going to the hospital if they got the virus or

receiving official aid from the government. (Shams)

Determined to make the situation work for immigrant communities, Salma and her team

began to outreach to those active within these communities. According to her this helped

with the language barrier as well as increasing the trust in them as an initiative. Eventually

they also made ties with UNICEF to try to get these groups the proper help they needed

from official organizations. Although a formal relationship was not always established

between individuals and UNICEF, Shams and her team felt that it was too much to take on

their own.

64
Another example is the children’s initiative which included over 50 Syrian children that

were taught the right way to protect themselves from the covid-19 pandemic.

These children were really disadvantaged and marginalized. No one thought to

address them as a community during the spread of the virus. We had to design

special curricula for them as they have a different culture and a different

understanding of the disease. Including them encouraged a merging environment

amongst the children. (Merna)

In terms of internal group dynamics it can be concluded that group dynamics in all

respondents were homogenous. With exception to the two initiatives mentioned above,

other teams were all Egyptians with adjacent characteristics. Teams were generally

composed of males and females ranging from mid 20s to early 40s. As such it is to be

concluded that there was no diversification internally as well as little to no diversification

in the people receiving the aid.

Empowerment and political action

From the research study sample it can be deduced that this element was a pre-existing

condition that drove social capital of the groups. When asked about the reason why they

were motivated, all respondents answered in the belief of positive action in times of crisis.

More often than not the responses included some kind of feeling of personal responsibility

to act.

65
 I believe that the non-governmental sector was the core to overcoming the crisis. A

lot of people made initiatives to bridge the gap as the government was having a

hard time, if these initiatives were not there people would have suffered more. We

chose to do this initiative because we saw how things were deteriorating everyday .

We felt that when the people on the frontline are no longer able to protect

themselves, this is when we would intervene. (Mark)

Others were personally affected and motivated to working on their initiative.

When I got corona myself, I was in the dark there was no information available on

what to do. When I recovered I felt it is important to assure others that they are not

alone. I like to believe it was a bit of pay it forward, to do good and good things

will happen. (Haitham)

For some, giving back to the community meant a sense of relief and a feeling of personal

satisfaction.

At the time, this initiative was the only thing which made us feel ok psychologically.

The only thing that gave me motivation to get up and continue my day was the

initiative. Even though it was very hectic, it was worth it. (Nadine)

This is reaffirmed in the literature which justifies patterns in social solidarity according to

the social exchange theory. Specifically, one study in Israel looked at volunteering patterns

66
of youth in one project. The study found that volunteering, especially spontaneous

organization like in our discussion, was motivated by reasons of their perception of what

social solidarity ought to be and a sense of personal empowerment. As well as satisfaction

that felt inherent like personal value systems and external rewards like gratitude (Kulik, L.

et al, 2016).

67
 Chapter 7: Discussion

This study attempted to examine the role of social capital in building resilience in

social solidarity initiatives that took place during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Egyptian

context. From the literature review we saw that the theoretical conceptualization of social

capital focuses on its ability to transform communal ties to collective action. We focused

our research question on narrowing down the role of social capital displayed in this

phenomenon.

In our data collection and analysis, we use the conceptual framework to exhibit the

respondents examination of social capital. Using the Social Capital Theory as a theoretical

background and the conceptual framework as developed by the world bank, the author was

able to categorize the six dimensions used with the repondant data. Table 1.4 below

demonstrates the dimensions portrayed in the data collection with examples from the

respondent answers in direct quotations.

68
Dimension Brief description Conclusion from the study Example

I. Groups and Bonding & bridging: Participants indicated that their work ”I work in [X], when I started the

networks Bonding refers to the benefits and utilized on people within their own initiative I approached them with

resources shared within a homogenous network then expanded to other my idea. Because they know me and

group together. I.e. groups that share networks because of the urgency of know my work. They gave me a fund

the same characteristics, race, familial the situation i.e. from bonding to of 100 thousand. This was a huge

ties, etc. On the other hand, bridging bridging amount which helped gather the

happens when connections happen material for approximately 15,000

over different cleavage like race, masks.”

religion, organizations, etc.

II. Trust and when there is greater trust within a Because of trust, reciprocation of “In times of crisis there is a crisis of

Solidarity community or group, there is greater interests were exchanged within a trust. Because people know us and

cooperation and a circle of trust is given network know our activities, they trusted

established what we had to say about the given

situation as well as how they could

contribute. They simply trusted the

information we were giving out.”

III. Collective Focuses on collective efficacy of the people had more time to dedicate as

action and society’s ability to use these social there was a nationwide lockdown. “I didn't imagine that it would have

cooperation resources to self-organize The second is because of an increase this [initiative] and would have a

in social consciousness that snowball effect. It just started with

encouraged people to act when the idea then more people joined

because of the increase in Covid and then these people were able to

cases get funding and volunteers and so

on. I really felt like it formulated a

beehive.”

69
IV. Information Measures what kind of communication The role of technology was strong, We couldn't have done anything

and is used as well as how these channels social media applications like without the use of social media, it's

communication are utilized facebook groups and pages were how we connected with everyone

used for outreach to get to from the kitchens to the volunteers.

beneficiaries as well as collect It's how the co-founders found each

donations and recruit volunteers. other and how we had our outreach

to be able to help.

V. Social Depth of the social bonds and their Social cohesion and inclusion was Shortly after we began our services

cohesion and ability to control group membership. not influential during the pandemic we discovered that the immigrants

inclusion response teams. It was only relevant and especially illegal ones from

in two examples which showed an Africa were excluded from getting

attempt to include marginalized and any help. Rarely anyone helped

outcast groups. Others seemed to them and they were the ones who

work mass scale and did not needed the most help because there

differentiate or attempt to seek are a lot of undocumented

specific groups. immigrants.

VI. The feeling of individual adequacy to All respondents answered in the At the time, this initiative was the

Empowerment produce impact on an individual or belief of positive action in times of only thing which made us feel ok

and political community level crisis. More often than not the psychologically. The only thing that

action responses included some kind of gave me motivation to get up and

feeling of personal responsibility to continue my day was the initiative.

act. Even though it was very hectic, it

was worth it.

Table 1.4: summary of key dimensions analyzed from the data collection

70
From the main findings we have found that social capital was successful in generating

collective action during the height of the Corona crisis. Specifically social capital was

manifested in the sharing of common ties such as networks of personal and impersonal

relationships. It is in the conclusion of the author that these networks were able to

formulate faster and more efficiently because of the novelty of the pandemic and the

uncertainty of the scale of impact. These networks relied on a common understanding of

shared identity, belief and trust. These patterns of behavior particularly were shown in the

quick mobilization of the initiatives and volunteering and in the donation patterns for the

NGOs.

Our study also showed that social media became a strong force to perpetuate social

solidarity in times of social distancing. Social media as such presented itself as an

opportunity to outreach to others.

This is not to say that social capital in our given context translates only to communal ties.

It is in fact a much deeper complex process that also involves many other aspects. For one

we saw that resource mobilization of physical assets was able to convert connections to

action like in the food initiative. Political consciousness of the people and their personal

motivation to act out of a sense of responsibility also contributed to the pre-existing norms

and institutionalization that activated individuals. Moreover, we saw decreased transaction

costs based on trust that favored spending social capital over spending resources. In which

observations were made about the high motivation of interviewees to invest in their

71
networks, their time and their effort in joint action regardless of the trade-off in terms of

financial compensation.

The research also attempted to deduce the role of social media in the manifestation of

social capital. To that we saw that the role of social media helped vigorously in sharing of

information and communication between networks. This was specifically evident during

the pandemic in times of physical distancing. As evident from the literature, social media

became closely linked to social capital as it provides all the foundation of social capital

such as connecting with one’s respective network, building trust, providing ease for

collective action and facilitating communication. Instead of being merely a platform for

social capital, social media in our case became an essential pre-requisite for the existence

of social capital. The study also confirmed that as social media became an outlet of

information in times of lack of transparency. It was also used to increase fundraising

efforts and outreach to a wider audience that would be interested to join the movements.

The importance of discussing social capital as a concept must also be addressed. The

significance of studying the effect of social capital here is multifaceted. Firstly, is the

timing of such a research. Because of the novelty of the pandemic, little research has been

done to see how the work of civil society may be incorporated in the pandemic and to

crisis in general. In our research social capital acted as a measure of community resilience

that was present in the Egyptian civil society.

72
Secondly is the ability of social capital to examine social resources shared by a

community. In our conclusion, Egyptian social resources were versatile and adaptive. For

future implications this would present the concept of social capital in a more

conceptualized manner fit for the discussion.

It is also important to note criticism that is shared by several scholars about the role of civil

society in times of crisis. Simply put, because civil society provides a relief net it

encourages governments not to act accordingly. In a sense, civil society organizations

create a parallel government that might even share more trust and solidarity than any

formal type of government. The author as such declares that this is a note worth taking into

account. Nonetheless this is a difficult question to pose in developing countries with no

secure social security net and a crisis in public spending. It is this point in our analysis that

may suggest that all types of civil society organizations were able to intervene so quickly.

Even though the interviews did not directly refer to this, it can be seen that the pressure on

the local climate has created an unspoken agreement between the official government and

civil society to act as a third sector service provider.

Departing from this point, it was the ethos of this research to establish the role of social

capital in collective action during the covid-19 pandemic in Egypt. However, there needs

to be further investigation in order to utilize the concept of social capital in action. In the

general literature the idea of quantifying social capital has been a point of debate between

scholars and practitioners alike. As discussed in the conceptual framework above, social

capital can be quite a fluid concept on both the individual and societal level. However, it is

73
the understanding and recommendation of the author to attempt to understand social capital

in its correct context using a quantifiable approach. For the purposes of this study, a small

qualitative sample was selected; however, to really measure social capital we would need a

large mass survey to complement the findings of our current analysis.

74
 Chapter 8: Conclusion and final remarks

Conclusion

The Covid-19 pandemic created boundaries of social interaction and physical existence.

Nonetheless we conclude in our study that the strong networks formulated by social capital

drove the forces of social solidarity in Egyptian social solidarity initiatives during Covid-

19 pandemic. Much like the lessons learned from the active role of social media during the

25th of January revolution, we also saw great online mobilization of citizens to help others

in times of need during the Covid-19 pandemic. In reference to our main research question,

“To what extent did social solidarity online networks in Egypt harvest social capital

during the Covid-19 pandemic?” Social capital was effectively used as a way to examine

just how much these initiatives capitalized on their networks to be able to act in an orderly

manner. From this research and supplementary literature, we stress the importance of

citizen-led movements and organizations in times of critical need.

Recommendations

It is the belief of the researcher that this study may help to drive a pathway into examining

social capital within the Egyptian context. As such we offer recommendations on how to

turn social capital theory into practice for crisis situations and specifically for our chosen

setting. The below should help stakeholders and potential decision makers on devising

efficient strategies to harvest social capital;

75
● Assess community social capital; little to no research has been done to evaluate

the strength of social capital in Egypt. This is of more importance since Egyptian

youth make up more than 40% of the population. It is thus important to determine

what drives the community further especially with the highlighted presence of

youth. According to traditional public policy practices this can be done using

surveys and social network analysis.

● Build planned networks; after assessing the social capital in the community it

becomes important to see how it can be utilized. As seen in our study most

networks that support social solidarity are of a haphazard nature and are based on

established personal networks. Building meaningful networks would mean more

state involvement and organization. A few examples would be creating community

assemblies and associations, empowering local neighborhoods of power,

establishing sustainable communication with governmental decision makers.

● Increase flow of information; as seen in our study information played a pivotal

role in mobilizing the initiatives and triggering social capital. As such it is

important for decision makers to devise good communication plans especially in

times of crisis. This also means good communication between organizations and

not just state apparatus. The use of social media as investigated in our research

have far more overarching results that one could reach through traditional media.

76
Study limitations and suggestions for future research

The author has concluded that the biggest limitation to the study was the lack of relevant

literature to the discussed context. Little to no research can be found on the role of social

capital in the MENA region. Furthermore, because of the novelty of the Covid-19

pandemic research is not readily available about the socio-political dynamics of the virus.

It is also important to identify the scope of this research as it focused on the manifestations

of social capital and social solidarity. Moreover, as we discuss social solidarity initiatives

we realize that a lot of the field of volunteerism is attached to our scope. But this was not

discussed in the study due to the lack of time and resources available.

This research can potentially contribute to expanding the literature on social capital and the

use of it during the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, this study addresses several key

stakeholders including but not limited to, governmental and non-governmental bodies,

private sector partners and civil society activists. Recommendations for future studies

relevant to the role of social capital in Egypt should focus on integrating the cultural and

religious aspects that form networks of trust. This would delve deeper into the types of

social capital that are manifested in the Egyptian society. There would also be a need to

study the social capital aspects of Egyptian youth as they constitute a large part of the

Egyptian civil society scene. A good approach would be to quantitatively measure social

capital in a given context and compare that to the results of another study done in a

77
different country. Another suggestion for future research would focus on the current status

of the initiatives discussed in our sample. The focus took place in March 2020, to the

knowledge of the author when the thesis was submitted a year later, many initiatives

discontinued the work. Because of their spontaneous nature, many of these initiatives did

not have a clear work pathway to begin with. As such it should be further investigated

whether operations did in fact continue and whether the projects took on new forms to

sustain themselves.

78
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Appendix A

1) questions to key informants

*These questions will be used for a one-to-one semi-structured interview expected to go on

for one hour.

● Please introduce yourself: name, age and occupation

● When did the initiative/project targeting the covid-19 pandemic pandemic start

● Why was the initiative/project chosen

● How many would you say were helped so far

● How many volunteers/participants do you have?

● Did you have any problems recruiting volunteers?

● Did Corona change your activities and form of aid delivery?

● How did you use social media in your project

● How has social media advance/hinder your work

● What was your personal motivation for this project

● What were the biggest successes and biggest challenges in your opinion

● Do you receive any official endorsement from any governmental or non-

governmental entity

● How much time would you say you spent or are spending on this initiative/project

● Do you feel the need to grow the initiative/project forward

● What have you gained from this experience

● Can I get in touch with some of the volunteers/participants you have

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● Do you have any questions for me?

● Would you like to say any concluding remarks?

93