Maps of Informality in Egypt as a Style of Living

Summary

The study seeks to provide a theoretical structure through which “Informality” can be understood as a mode of living similar to that prevailing in our modern societies. The paper introduces a definition of this phenomenon lifestyle as “the style of directing the social practices of the self and of others”, and examines the validity of this definition through two approaches: using Michel Foucault’s concepts of conduct and the two powers, i.e. the disciplinary power and bio-power in the first; and Pierre Purdue’s concepts of capital, field, and habitus in the second.