Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to understand why small acts of protest can sometimes trigger mass mobilization, while similar acts of protest do not. It examines two quasi-identical cases of self-immolation that occurred in Tunisia in 2010. The book examines two instances of popular mobilization in Libya and shows that the failure of the 2006 protests to create a local informational cascade is due to the resistance of local intermediate actors. It focuses on two recent instances of failed mobilization in Algeria in order to highlight the importance of intermediate actors in the failure of national mobilization. The book also examines the mixed Moroccan case and shows that the growth of a mobilization dynamic in the early months of 2011 and its subsequent interruption were both due to shifts in the involvement of local intermediate actors.