This book studies the role of youth movements in the Arab uprisings of 2010 and 2011, and the regime's responses to these movements.

In this book, Ahmed Tohamy analyses the often-neglected trajectory that led up to the protests in Egypt that culminated in the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Tohamy's assertion is that by examining the decade preceding this momentous event, we see that the youth movement far from being inert was extremely active. Tohamy uses the Social Movements Theory to argue how Egyptian youth became a new agent of change in the Middle East. By positioning the youth activists as dynamically engaging with their social and political contexts within a framework of opportunities and constraints, his analysis strikes at the heart of the debates concerning the nature and substance of revolution and its effects on state and society."

At a time when political mobilisation is a symptom of social dissatisfaction, young people’s participation in political decision-making, practice and ideological change, make foregrounding and investigating their political practices a necessity. The title of this book, Young People Shaping Democratic Politics: Interrogating Inclusion, Mobilising Education clearly announces its intention, subject, and mission. This collection has been inspired by topical youth mobilisations that aim to address injustices and inequalities which are rooted in poverty, austerity, violence, increased surveillance, climate change, dislocation, xenophobia, the rise of authoritarian regimes, and a global turn to the political right. Whereas young people are politicised in moments of conflict and become symbolic conduits for the future of their nation, they represent a category most often relegated to the apolitical sphere before and after such moments of crisis.​ This edited collection seeks to expand our engagement with inclusion beyond educational institutions by situating young people at the centre of our inquiry, as agents of political processes that promote, problematise and re-imagine inclusive societies. The chapters engage in contemporary case-studies, which are mapped across a wide range of countries from Europe (Serbia, Spain and United Kingdom), North Africa (Egypt), South Africa, North America (United States), South-Asia (Bangladesh), and West Asia (Lebanon).

While the Arab people took center stage in the Arab Spring protests, academic studies have focused more on structural factors to understand the limitations of these popular uprisings. This book analyzes the role and complexities of popular agency in the Arab Spring through the framework of contentious politics and social movement theory.

Civil Society in the Middle East analyzes the impact of repression on civil society activism in the Middle East through analyzing the cases of Egypt and Jordan. Sika argues that authoritarian regimes' repressive strategies toward civil society actors vary depending on recent historical experience with regime breakdown and/or continuity. Authoritarian regimes that go through breakdown and that transition from one autocratic rule to another increase repression against all civil society actors in an effort to pre-empt large-scale mobilization. This instils fear into civil society actors, who as a result either disengage from civic and political activism or turn to different forms of participation, such as social entrepreneurship. On the other hand, long-standing authoritarian regimes that have not faced breakdown utilize targeted repression and co-optation strategies while tolerating civic and political activism, as well as some forms of contentious activities. Civil society actors in these regimes are able to grasp political opportunities to mobilize for demonstrations at certain times and in certain spaces, and to develop coalition partnerships to push the regime to advance some reforms and change.

The latest edition of this renowned textbook explores the states and regimes of the Middle East and North Africa. Presenting heavily revised, fully updated chapters contributed by the world’s leading experts, it analyzes the historical trajectory, political institutions, economic development, and foreign policies of the region’s nearly two dozen countries. The volume can be used in conjunction with its sister volume, The Societies of the Middle East and North Africa, for a comprehensive overview of the region. Chapters are organized and structured identically, giving insightful windows into the nuances of each country’s domestic politics and foreign relations. Data tables and extensive annotated bibliographies orient readers towards further research. Whether used in conjunction with its sister volume or on its own, this book provides the most comprehensive and detailed overview of the region’s varied politics. Five new experts cover the critical country cases of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. All chapters cover the latest events, including trends that have remarkably changed in just a few years like the gradual end of the Syrian civil war. As such, this textbook is invaluable to students of Middle Eastern politics.. The ninth edition brings substantial changes. All chapters also have a uniform, streamlined structure that explores the historical context, social and economic environment, political institutions, regime dynamics, and foreign policy of each country. Fact boxes and political maps are now far more extensive, and photographs and images also help illustrate key points. Annotated bibliographies are vastly expanded, providing nothing short of the best list of research references for each country.

This book studies the role of youth movements in the Arab uprisings of 2010 and 2011, and the regime's responses to these movements.

What Politics? Youth and Political Engagement in Africa examines the diverse experiences of being young in today’s Africa. It offers new perspectives to the roles and positions young people take to change their life conditions both within and beyond the formal political structures and institutions. The contributors represent several social science disciplines, and provide well-grounded qualitative analyses of young people’s everyday engagements by critically examining dominant discourses of youth, politics and ideology. Despite focusing on Africa, the book is a collective effort to better understand what it is like to be young today, and what the making of tomorrow’s yesterday means for them in personal and political terms. Contributors are: Ehaab Abdou, Abebaw Yirga Adamu, Henni Alava, Päivi Armila, Randi Rønning Balsvik, Jesper Bjarnesen, Þóra Björnsdóttir, Jónína Einarsdóttir, Tilo Grätz, Nanna Jordt Jørgensen, Marko Kananen, Sofia Laine, Naydene de Lange, Afifa Ltifi, Ivo Mhike, Claudia Mitchell, Relebohile Moletsane, Danai S. Mupotsa, Elina Oinas, Henri Onodera, Eija Ranta, Mounir Saidani, Mariko Sato, Loubna H. Skalli, Tiina Sotkasiira, Abdoulaye Sounaye, Leena Suurpää, and Mulumebet Zenebe. What Politics? Youth and Political Engagement in Africa is now available in paperback for individual customers.

This book examines Egypt’s turbulent and contradictory political period (2011-2015) as key to understanding contemporary politics in the country and the developments in the Arab region after the mass protests in 2010/11, more broadly. In doing so, it breaks new ground in the study of political representation, providing analytical innovation to the study of disenchantment with politics, democracy fatigue and social cohesion. Based on five years of intense fieldwork, the author provides rare insights into local and national ideas on politics, justice and identity, and on how people situate themselves and Egypt in the regional and global context. It analyzes how the creation of an alternate, political system was discussed and negotiated among the Egyptian population, the military, the government, public figures, the media, and international actors, and yet nevertheless today, Egypt has a new political regime that is the most repressive in the countries’ modern history. Finally, it recalls the emotions and perceptions of individuals and collectives and interlinks these local perspectives to national events and developments through time. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of democratization and authoritarianism, Middle East Studies, political representation and informality, collective action, and more broadly to cultural studies and international relations.

An eye-opening look at youth in contemporary Egypt, from the role they play in advancing political change to their everyday struggles In Youth in Egypt, Nadine Sika explores the political world of young people in Egypt, focusing on their experiences under authoritarianism. From the reigns of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat to that of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, she offers an on-the-ground perspective through the eyes of multiple generations of young people who lived through consecutive periods of political upheaval and state militarization. Drawing on surveys, interviews, and focus groups, Sika shines a light on youth who have participated in protest movements, civil society organizations, and political parties. She shows us the different opportunities for economic and political participation that exist for them, explaining why young Egyptians may choose to either mobilize against or—surprisingly—in support of the regime. Sika underscores how youth in Egypt have been regarded as both the “hope of the nation” and a “threat to the nation.” Youth in Egypt shines a light on the rising generation of young people that represents Egypt's future and also has significant implications for the broader Middle East and North Africa region.