Anna Maria Di Tolla e Francesca Ersilia, Il Torcoliere, Napoli, pp. 489
The articles in this book tackle the questions of social activism and women’s participation, resistance and resilience transpiring in North Africa in the aftermath of the uprisings. The chapters are organized into two sections. Part one, titled Economic and Social Issues, engages with some elements of the puzzle raised by the Arab uprisings and subsequent events by addressing issues such as migrations, water and food shortage, economic challenges, citizenship and transitional democracy. In part two, titled Gender Dynamics, the articles engage with the key themes of the book by addressing the ways female activists and feminists (both secular and Islamic) responded to the authoritarian regimes and to an increasingly perceived inequality of opportunities by creating new forms of reaction, resistance and resilience and developing a more active political consciousness. Women’s ability to resort to the street and to social media in strategically smart ways represents a major challenge to traditional gender dynamics in the region, and will it make more difficult for the authoritarian and conservative forces to monopolize power in the future.