Acconcia

This book investigates the role of social groups in mobilizing resources for protests in repressive contexts. In particular, it examines the impact of organizations and informal groups on individual engagement in the protests developed in 2010-2011 in Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria. Empirical analysis draws on a wave of events and protests that took place between 2010 and 2021. It explores how, in repressive contexts, spontaneous groups and more established and formal organizations continuously switch from one form to another, transforming themselves faster than they would do in democratic contexts.

Giuseppe Acconcia is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in Political Sociology and Geopolitics of the Middle East at the University of Padua, Department of Political Science, Law, and International Studies (SPGI), Italy. He holds a PhD degree in politics at the University of London (Goldsmiths). His research interests focus on social movements, state, and transformation in the Middle East.

Lorenza Perini is a researcher at the Department of Political Science, Law, and International Studies (SPGI), University of Padua, Italy. She holds a PhD degree in contemporary history and in urban planning. She teaches gender policies and globalization. She is a member of the Equal Opportunities Committee and the Gender Studies Research Centre (CEC) at the same University.