Multiculturalism and Democracy in North Africa: Aftermath of the Arab Spring(Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics)

Investigating the connections between multiculturalism, minorities, citizenship, and democracy in North Africa, this book argues that multiculturalism in this region– and in the Arab world at large – has reached a significant level in terms of scale and importance. In the rest of the world, there has been a trend – albeit a contested one – toward a greater recognition of minority rights. The Arab world however, particularly North Africa, seems to be an exception to this trend, as Arab states continue to promote highly unitary and homogenizing ideas of nationhood and state unity, whilst discouraging, or even forbidding, minority political mobilization. The central theoretical premise of this book is that North Africa is a multicultural region, where culture is inherently linked to politics, religion, gender, and society, and a place where democracy is gradually taking root despite many political and economic hurdles. Addressing the lacuna in literature on this issue, this book opens new avenues of thought and research on diversity, linking policy based on cultural difference to democratic culture and to social justice. Multiculturalism and Democracy in North Africa will be of use to students and researchers with an interest in Sociology, Cultural Studies, and Political Science more broadly.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Contextualising Multiculturalism and Democracy in North Africa – Moha Ennaji Part I: Conceptualization and Historical Background 2 Colonial Legacies, National Identity and Challenges for Multiculturalism in the Contemporary Maghreb – Jonathan Wyrtzen 3 Algeria: Cultural Multiplicity and Unity Dialectics – Abderrezak Dourari Part II: The Berber Issue and Democratization 4 The Tension Between Arabophones and Berberophones in Algeria – Mohammed Benrabeh 5 Berber and Language Politics in the Moroccan Educational System – Fatima Sadiqi 6 The Berber (Amazigh) Movement in Morocco – Moha Ennaji Part III: Authoritarianism, Change and Cultural Diversity 7 Why No Arab Spring in Algeria – Belkacem Iratni 8 Race and Color in North Africa and the Arab Spring – Hamid Bahri Part IV: Islamism, Women and Media in Tunisia 9 Women’s Empowerment: the Case of Tunisia in the Arab Spring – Khedija Arfaoui 10 The Tunisian Media in Transition: From Manufacturing Consent to Manufacturing 'Discontent' – Nabil Cherni Part V: Multiculturalism and Minorities in Egypt 11 the Not-so-silent Minority: The Case of Egypt's Coptic Minority in Post Arab Uprising Egypt – Marlyn Tadros 12 Egypt: How the Revolution has Impacted the Debate over Minority Rights and Multiculturalism – Sara Khorshid 13 Claiming Space for Minorities in Egypt after the Arab Spring – Sherifa Zuhur Part VI: Socio-cultural and Political Transformations in Post-Qaddafi Libya 14 Multiculturalism and Democracy in Post-Qaddafi Libya – Ronald Bruce St John 15 Minorities in the New Libya – George Joffe

About the Author :
Moha Ennaji is a Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor at Rutgers University. He is Professor of Linguistics, Culture, and Gender Studies, author of Multilingualism, Cultural Identity and Education in Morocco (2005) and co-editor of Gender and Violence in the Middle East. (Routledge, 2011).