ABSTRACT

This chapter reviews the record of social mobilization in the region before, during, and after the Arab uprisings. It identifies cross-national patterns of social mobilization during the uprisings and offers some tentative and preliminary explanations for them. The chapter also describes the diverse forms of social mobilization within the region, both informal and formal, featuring an array of social actors, both established and relatively new. The distinct political contexts of the Middle East and North Africa countries can also help explain why the uprisings played out in such varied ways. Common stereotypes of the Middle East hold that religion and ethnicity are the primary forms of social and political organization. In countries with politicized ethnic and sectarian cleavages, clientelism has additional layers and tends to operate on identity-based lines. Labour unions, unlike political parties, have a long history of activism in the region, and in some countries they have been meaningful sites of mobilization for workers.