Mobilization Series on Social Movements, Protest, and Culture

This book examines the relationship between exile and activism. Drawing on interviews with activists exiled to England following the military coup d’état in Egypt as an illustrative case, it considers whether exile presents any barrier to meaningful political participation. Through a comparison of activism in Egypt with exiled activism in England, the author explores the mechanisms mediating the changes in the activists’ activities, tracing the conditions for exile in institutions of dictatorship and shedding light on the process by which activism is decertified and fear of repression becomes internalised within a movement - a process that is counteracted in the sanctuary and stability of a host country in which activist networks are founded and the exile repertoire is expanded. A significant contribution to social movement theory, this book will appeal to sociologists and political scientists with interests in political mobilisation and contentious politics.