Researching Civic Activism in the Arab World

Abstract

According to classical Western social theory, the institutions, networks, and projects of civil society operate in a pluralistic, continuously contested public civic realm. Distinct from either the government’s coercive bureaucratic functions or profit-seeking private businesses, often conceptualized as a buffer between states and households, civil society represents a third, non-governmental, non-profit, voluntary sector of modern society. Viewed differently, the civic realm is a zone where culture interacts with politics and economics. Recent research shows that rates of civic activism - of joining communicating, demonstrating, donating, organizing, and participating in events and projects that affect community services, public opinion, and national politics - vary across countries and across time. The question is whether cultural ‘traditions’ explain why the civic sphere is more vibrant in some places and periods than others.