Civil Resistance in the Middle East

This book is an attempt to highlight the historical and contemporary applications of civil resistance in the Middle East, and to shed light on the relevance of popular struggle to democratization and good governance.

Far more often than is recognized in this region, civil resistance, involving large groups of people, has been used by groups in the Middle East to prosecute conflicts forcefully and effectively. Egyptians, Sudanese, Palestinians, Tunisians, Kuwaitis, Israelis, Iranians, Afghans, and other groups in the greater Middle East have used methods of civil resistance including boycotts, strikes, protests, sit-ins, and other forms of civil disobedience and non-cooperation to put pressure on, and sometimes completely dismantle, their opponents' grip on power. Despite the historical reality, popularly held beliefs abound in the region: that nonviolent resistance connotes 'pacifism'; that it is inherently weak and lacks the revolutionary potential of armed struggle; that it is synonymous with negotiation or traditional conflict resolution; and that it cannot be effective against opponents willing to use violence.

The first part of this book will provide an overview of the phenomenon of civil resistance, how it functions as an alternative to political violence, and how groups in the region have used it to challenge various forms of tyranny. The most prevalent questions and controversies surrounding civil resistance will be identified and addressed. Scholars of the Middle East and Islam will examine notions of jihad, resistance, and democracy and discuss their interrelationship. The role of discourse, and reinterpretation of religious and cultural norms in mobilizing and legitimizing nonviolent resistance in different parts of the Middle East will be discussed and analyzed as well.

Filling a clear gap in the literature, this book will be of great interest to students of civil resistance, security studies, conflict resolution, war and conflict studies, political violence and Middle Eastern politics in general.