ABSTRACT
Based on the quantitative and qualitative fieldwork of the POWER2YOUTH (P2Y) project in six MENA countries (Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, Tunisia, Occupied Palestinian Territories) this article analyses the relation between young people’s economic grievances, their satisfaction with their regimes’ governance and the extent to which they are politically mobilized. What is the relation between socio-economic and political grievances and contestation in the MENA? This article demonstrates the importance of bringing politics back into understanding contestation and mobilization in the MENA. It challenges the general narrative that contends that economic grievances, especially unemployment, are the main drivers for public discontent and contestation. It demonstrates that socio-economic grievances develop into political grievances and that the amalgam of both socio-economic and political grievances is linked to young peoples’ tendencies to protest against their respective regimes.
