Globalization includes complex processes, easy to identify butdifficult to explain. Why, for instance, are globalizing processes sounevenly distributed between poor and wealthy countries? What effectdoes this uneven distribution have on the everyday lives of ordinarypeople?

The contributors to this volume find answers to these questions inthe Mediterranean, a region divided between the relatively wealthypeople of the north shore, who are engaged with Europe and modernized, and their poorer neighbours to the south, who strive daily to meet thesame standards of living and modes of governance as their moreWesternized neighbours to the north. In these two regions, divergenthistories, economies, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, educationsystems, and political structures lead to explanations for unevenglobalization and disparities in the achievement of individual andcollective autonomy, in the Mediterranean region and around theworld.

These illuminating case studies show that globalization for thepeople of North Africa and the Near East has precipitated both a desireto build stronger ties with an ever-wary Europe and a search forindividual and collective autonomy, particularly in the cultural realm.The seeds of discontent sown by these struggles underpin thedemonstrations for political autonomy that sparked the Arab Spring.

Yassine Essid is an expert on the history ofIslamic economic thought and on the history and place of Islam in NorthAfrica and the Middle East. William D. Coleman hasoverseen the writing of the books in the Globalization and AutonomySeries. He carries out research on different theories aboutglobalization and on global governance.

Contributors: Mongi Bahloul, Samouel Beji, HoudaBen Hassen, Almudena Hasan Bosque, Lotfi Bouzaiane, Abdeljabbar Bsaies, Faika Charfi, Hachmi Dhaou, Yassine Essid, Sonia Fellous, Amado A.Millan Fuertes, Nizard Jouini, Rulof Kerkhoff, Myriem Lakhoua, LatifaLakhdhar, Jihen Malek, Paula Duran Monfort, Rim Ben Ayed Mouelhi, Olivia Orozco de la Torre, Fatma Sarraj, Francois Zabbal, and SamehZouari"

Why are globalizing processes unevenly distributed between poor and wealthy countries? What effect do these disparities have on the lives of ordinary people? The contributors to this volume find answers to these questions in the Mediterranean, a region divided between the wealthier nations of the north shore and their poorer neighbours to the south. The divergent histories, economies, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, education systems, and political structures of these two regions lead to explanations not only for uneven globalization but also for the wave of demonstrations that have sparked unrest in North Africa and the Near East.