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Cover image of Taking to the Streets
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Taking to the Streets

The Transformation of Arab Activism

edited by Lina Khatib and Ellen Lust

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Debunks the simplistic narratives of youth-driven, social media revolutions in the Arab Spring.

Taking to the Streets critically examines the conventional wisdom that the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings happened spontaneously and were directed by tech-savvy young revolutionaries. Pairing first-hand observations from activists with the critical perspectives of scholars, the book illuminates the concept of activism as an ongoing process, rather than a sudden burst of defiance.

The contributors examine case studies from uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait...

Debunks the simplistic narratives of youth-driven, social media revolutions in the Arab Spring.

Taking to the Streets critically examines the conventional wisdom that the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings happened spontaneously and were directed by tech-savvy young revolutionaries. Pairing first-hand observations from activists with the critical perspectives of scholars, the book illuminates the concept of activism as an ongoing process, rather than a sudden burst of defiance.

The contributors examine case studies from uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, evaluating the various manifestations of political activism within the context of each country's distinct sociopolitical landscape. The chapters include a country-specific timeline of the first year following the uprisings and conclude with lessons learned.

First-hand observations include those of Libyan activist Rihab Elhaj, who reflects on how the revolution gave birth to Libyan civil society, as well as Syrian writer and human rights activist Khawla Dunia, who discusses how Syrians have tried to remain steadfast in their commitment to nonviolent resistance.

A foreword by Prince Hicham Ben Abdallah El Alaoui—third in succession to the Moroccan throne and consulting professor at Stanford University's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL)—provides a historical overview of activism in the Middle East and North Africa. A postscript from CDDRL director Larry Diamond distinguishes the study of activism from that of democratization.

Taking to the Streets will be used in courses on Middle East politics and will be relevant to scholars and the general public interested in democratization, political change, and activism.

Reviews

Reviews

The volume is a welcome contribution to the literature on contentious politics and mobilization and should be equally valuable for university courses and scholars working on political sociology.

This volume will have a longer shelf life than many volumes about the uprisings because of its focus on providing a rich empirical context... It will be of interest to a broad readership and will be terrific in undergrad courses—I intend to use it myself... I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in a deeper understanding of the uprisings, and particularly their genesis.

Quite original. This book offers an authoritative account of events linked to the Arab Spring. To speak about country-specific dynamics, the coeditors have compiled a magnificent set of authors. Most impressive is that the chapters capture rich descriptive accounts of events that illuminate the political realities surrounding the events of the Arab Spring.

About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6.125
x
9.25
Pages
368
ISBN
9781421413129
Illustration Description
10 halftones
Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction. Reconsidering Activism in the Arab World: Arab Uprisings and Beyond
Chapter 1. Architecture of Resistance in Tunisia
Chapter 2. Egypt: A Decade of Ruptures
Chapter 3

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction. Reconsidering Activism in the Arab World: Arab Uprisings and Beyond
Chapter 1. Architecture of Resistance in Tunisia
Chapter 2. Egypt: A Decade of Ruptures
Chapter 3. Activism and Civil War in Libya
Chapter 4. Explaining Political Activism in Yemen
Chapter 5. Activism in Syria: Between Nonviolence and Armed Resistance
Chapter 6. Activism in Bahrain: Between Sectarian and Issue Politics
Chapter 7. Morocco's Makhzen and the Haphazard Activists
Chapter 8. Jordan: Evolving Activism in a Divided Society
Chapter 9. Political Activism in Kuwait: Reform in Fits and Starts
Chapter 10. No Spring in Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's Seemingly Impossible Revolution
Postscript. From Activism to Democracy
List of Contributors
Index

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Lina Khatib

Lina Khatib is director of the Carnegie Middle East Center and was a co-founder of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy, Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University.
Featured Contributor

Ellen Lust

Ellen Lust is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and founding director of the Program on Governance and Local Development in the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University.