Scholarship on the Middle East and North Africa almost always engages with politics, yet the assumed absence of public spaces and fora has led many to think that debate, consensus, and concerted social action are antithetical to the heritage of the region. Publics, Politics and Participation demonstrates not only the critical importance of the public for the Middle East and North Africa but also how the term and notion of the public sphere can be used productively to advance understandings of collective life and, moreover, how conflict and resistance are generative forces in public discourse.

The chapters in this volume represent some of the outstanding results of a five-year project organized by the Social Science Research Council and funded by the Ford Foundation, entitled “Reconceptualizing Public Spheres in the Middle East and North Africa.”

Seteney Shami is director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the Social Science Research Council.

Publication Details

Title
Publics, Politics and Participation: Locating the Public Sphere in the Middle East and North Africa
Authors
Shami, Seteney
Publisher
Social Science Research Council
Publish Date
2009
ISBN
978-0-9790772-5-8
Citation
Shami, Seteney, Publics, Politics and Participation: Locating the Public Sphere in the Middle East and North Africa (Social Science Research Council, 2009).
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