Matt Gordner is a PhD Candidate in the University of Toronto’s Department of Political Science where he specializes in political economy, development and comparative politics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). His dissertation, entitled “‘Work, Freedom, and National Dignity?’ Passive Revolution and NGO-ization in Tunisia from the Beylic Period to the Present,” examines the dual impact of capitalism and colonialism on long-term development patterns and social transformation in Tunisia, with a particular focus on the ways in which civil society’s global integration militates against the kind of social democracy that most Tunisians expect in a post-Ben Ali era. Matt’s academic work appears in book chapters, peer-reviewed and encyclopedia articles on youth politics, social movements, and other forms of activism and protest politics, tribalism and the politics of “local solidarities,” democratization and authoritarianism in the MENA region. His other areas of interest include (de-)radicalization, innovation and entrepreneurship, and the changing dynamics of the Arabic public sphere. Matt’s doctoral research has been supported by a Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation Scholarship, an American Political Science Association (APSA) Civil Society Fellowship, and a series of Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) Grants, among others.