Allying beyond social divides: An introduction to contentious politics and coalitions in the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

This introduction highlights the need for studies exploring the formation of coalitions in North Africa and the Middle East by privileging processual, relational and intersectional approaches. First, it proposes conceptual clarifications, followed by a discussion of the main trends that characterize the literature on coalitions in the region. Using several examples, the authors argue that in order to better understand the making (but also the unmaking) of coalitions in the MENA region it is essential to provide micro-sociological studies that look beyond the ideological divides to analyse the manifold transformations that emerge out of ‘coalition moments’, and that link processes of alliance-building to processes of differentiation and categorization.