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This chapter considers popular protest as a reflection of how the late medieval societies of Egypt and Syria, especially in their urban centers, imagined the ideal social order. It shows how protest was at times manipulated and channeled by those in power, to allow for vents that would relieve social pressure. The fact that this kind of maneuvering was quite common during the late Mamluk period highlights the delicate balances both rulers and ruled were negotiating. The chapter first examines protests as attempts to preserve an established social order, traditions, and customary privileges in the face of profound social changes and transformations. It then discusses restrictions on non-Muslims and sectarian violence during the period, the role of the state in encouraging and manipulating urban protest, and the use of prayer, satire, and parody in protest. It also explores protests by peasants and the involvement of the Mamluk underworld, or zuʻar, in protests.

This book has interpreted the history of late Mamluk Egypt and Syria “from below,” taking into account the historical experiences of the common people, especially the urban non-elites, in elucidating both the social history and political history of the time. It has identified the range of factors that combined to make Mamluk power more diffused in the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It has described the broad transformations that affected the economic structure of the Mamluk sultanate, the Mamluk culture and society, and the relations between rulers and ruled. This chapter offers general conclusions on the transformations that occurred in Egypt and Syria during the fifteenth century and emphasizes the importance of studying urban protest in the premodern period. It shows that protest is very much alive on the streets of various Arab cities, including those of Egypt and Syria.

Chapter 2 focuses on a turning point in perceptions of public space in Tokyo: the occupation of Shinjuku Station by anti–Vietnam War protesters in the summer of 1969. The protesters sought to transform the exit plaza at one of the busiest commuter hubs in the world into a place of encounter and free political engagement among citizens. When riot police cleared the station, it became clear that the possibilities for spontaneous use of public space were circumscribed by the needs of an emerging postindustrial capitalist system. Activists and theorists of the city turned toward localism and the legacies of the past in search of new sources of identity for urban citizenship.

This chapter argues that social networks were the building blocks of collective action in Shanghai. It investigates the changing role of social networks and collective identities during China's most dynamic period of urban protest (1919–1927) in Shanghai. The Shanghai case shows the salience of networks for mobilization and demobilization. The activity of the May Fourth organization presented a serious challenge to government control. It is seen as the beginning of modern Chinese nationalism. Political parties were the major players in the May Thirtieth Movement but over time the determining effect of particular individuals became increasingly clear. May Thirtieth departed from May Fourth in the prominent involvement of political parties and the more strident calls for fundamental political reform. The political history of 1920s Shanghai is largely the story of how the two major parties attempted to transcend their alien origins by adapting to the realities of Chinese society.