Dynamics of change in Muslim Middle East

Life as Politics offers a new perspective to understand the intricate nature of social activism and complex dynamics of change in today’s Muslim Middle East.

Popular imagination deems the Muslim Middle East as frozen in its own traditions and history. But this assumption fails to recognize that social and political change comes in many guises. In this eye-opening book, Asef Bayat reveals how under the shadow of the authoritarian rule, religious moral authorities, and neoliberal economies, ordinary people can make meaningful change through the practices of everyday life.

Though not as visible on the world-stage as a mass protest or a full-scale revolution, millions of people across the Middle East are discovering or creating new social spaces within which to make their claims heard. The urban poor, women, youth, religious groups and other marginalized people challenge the state's control through their daily activities in the main squares and back streets, in the city markers and neighbourhoods, and in the court houses and music halls. Though not coordinated in their activities, these "non-movements" offer a political response, not of protest but of practice and direct daily action. Offering a window into the complex social processes in this misunderstood part of the world, this unique book provides a Middle Eastern perspective on global debates over the meaning of social movements and the dynamics of social change.