Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East

Political change does not always begin in institutions or elite circles. Life as Politics argues that everyday actions of ordinary people play a decisive role in shaping political outcomes across the Middle East.

About the Book Life as Politics examines informal, non-institutional forms of political engagement, showing how daily practices—such as work, consumption, social interaction, and cultural expression—can challenge authority and reshape public space. The book shifts attention away from parties and movements toward lived experience, demonstrating how incremental actions accumulate into meaningful political change. It highlights how people navigate constraints, negotiate power, and assert agency even under authoritarian or restrictive conditions.

What You Will Discover

• Forms of everyday political action outside formal institutions.
• How social practices become vehicles of resistance and change.
• The relationship between daily life and broader political transformation.
• Rethinking politics beyond protest and revolution.

About the Author The author approaches politics from a sociological and ethnographic perspective, emphasizing lived experience and grassroots agency.

Who Is This Book For? This book is for students of Middle Eastern studies, sociology, political theory, and readers interested in bottom-up approaches to political change.