Divine Authority or Desperate Measures? An Assessment of Religious Legitimacy in Egypt

This study examines how religious legitimacy is structured and deployed within authoritarian governance. Using the cases of Egypt under Hosni Mubarak, Mohamed Morsi, and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, it conducts a qualitative content analysis of political speeches and constitutional texts, supported by MAXQDA coding. The cases are compared to assess how variations in rhetorical strategy and institutional control shape the role of religion in sustaining regime authority.