Inequality and Mobility - by Jörg Gertel & Katharina Grüneisl (Paperback)

About the Book

This book investigates the erosion of capabilities and aspirations in post-revolutionary Tunisia

Book Synopsis

After the Arab Revolutions in 2011, Tunisia became a symbol of freedom and justice and thus the hope of an entire region. Now, the picture has been reversed: Political freedoms are being curtailed and the economy is in disarray, especially after the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In the face of expanding inequality, resentment and attacks against >Others

Review Quotes

"Inequality and Mobility represents an invaluable collection of studies on the struggles and aspirations of the Tunisian people in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution. The essays conjoin economic and sociological analysis with fine-grained ethnographic accounts of the textures and vicissitudes of individual lives confronted with economic precarity, racial discrimination, and a political system that forcefully, if inconsistently, stifles and instrumentalizes mobility. This superb volume is a crucial resource for those seeking to understand the complex challenges faced by the peoples of North Africa in their search for a life of dignity, equality, and prosperity."
(Charles Hirschkind, University of California, Berkeley; author of The Ethical Soundscape. Cassette Sermons and Islamic Counterpublics)

--Charles Hirschkind, University of California, Berkeley; author of "The Ethical Soundscape. Cassette Sermons and Islamic Counterpublics"

"This volume is a much-needed, innovative contribution on the interconnectedness of some of the most pressing challenges of our time as they dominate the larger Middle East. Focusing on the case of Tunisia, Inequality and Mobility provides rich empirical material and fresh insights into the struggles of daily life under continuous authoritarian rule after the failed Arab up-risings of a decade ago. It opens new perspectives for comparison across the region, from the Mediterranean to the Mashreq.
(Nadia Al-Bagdadi, Central European University, Vienna; co-editor and co-director of Striking from the Margins - State, Religion, and Devolution of Authority in the Middle East)

--Nadia Al-Bagdadi, Central European University, Vienna; co-editor and co-director of "Striking from the Margins - State, Religion, and Devolution of Authority in the Middle East"

"From irregular migration to a precarious economy, from deferred dreams to the reality of forced flight, Inequality and Mobility offers a reflection of a society challenged by insecure livelihoods and the demand for dignity. This volume is not simply a Tunisian case study, but rather a contemporary anthropological reading of the post-revolutionary reality in the Maghreb: a space where besieged desires intertwine with the dynamics of hesitant change, and where hope for a dignified future continues to rise from the depths of marginalization." (Houda Laroussi, University of Carthage, Tunis; author of Tunisia in Crises. Local Tensions and Conflicts in a Post-Revolutionary Context)--Houda Laroussie, University of Carthage, Tunis; author of "Tunisia in Crises. Local Tensions and Conflicts in a Post-Revolutionary Context"

About the Author

Jörg Gertel (Prof. Dr.) is a professor of Arabic studies and economic geography at Universität Leipzig. His education took him to the universities of Damascus, Cairo and Khartoum. He also taught and conducted research at Universität Freiburg and several times in Seattle and Auckland. His research focuses on the wider Mediterranean region and questions of food security, mobility and market dynamics, and the situation of youth and young adults.
Katharina Grüneisl (Dr.) is a postdoctoral research fellow in Geography at the University of Nottingham. Her current research examines gendered relations of work in Jordan's industrial zones for export-oriented garment manufacturing. She completed a PhD in Human Geography at Durham University in 2021 and has since held postdoctoral positions at Universität Leipzig and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. Her dissertation project examines urban change through the lens of the used clothing economy in Tunisia's capital city.