| List of Tables | |
| Foreword | |
| Acknowledgments | |
| A Note on Transliteration | |
| Introduction | 3 |
| Egypt and Popular Political Expression | 5 |
| The Context and Approach of the Study | 17 |
| Ch. 1 | The Family, Politics, and the Familial Ethos | 41 |
| The Public/Private Dichotomy and Political Participation | 44 |
| Patrimonialism, the Family, and Participation in a Middle Eastern Context | 45 |
| The Familial Ethos | 49 |
| Conclusion: An Ethos beyond the Household | 71 |
| Ch. 2 | Reproducing the Family | 74 |
| Choosing a Mate: "Shababiik, shababiik, id-dunya kullaha shababiik" | 77 |
| Marriage Protocol, or the Rules of Engagement | 85 |
| Sexuality and the Transgression of Public Norms | 92 |
| The Cost of Marriage: An Economic Nightmare | 109 |
| Raising the Capital to Marry | 121 |
| Conclusions: Marriage, the Economy, and the State | 126 |
| Ch. 3 | Networks: The Political Lifeline of Community | 132 |
| Earning a Living | 138 |
| Development: Education Networks | 160 |
| The Bureaucracy and the State | 164 |
| Ch. 4 | Informality: Politics and Economics in Tandem | 173 |
| Informal and Formal Economic Activity in a Shabi Community | 179 |
| Family Enterprises | 199 |
| Informality Meets the State | 205 |
| The Shab and Informality: Wages and Wealth | 231 |
| Informality: The Economic and Political Consequences for the Nation | 238 |
| Ch. 5 | Politics as Distribution | 244 |
| Private Voluntary Organizations: A Mediated Distribution Point | 246 |
| Elite Politics, the State, and the Shab | 255 |
| Conclusions | 269 |
| Notes | 273 |
| Bibliography | 315 |
| Index | 331 |
