My PhD research intends to examine political activism at the grassroots level on two Middle Eastern and North African case studies. The comparative analysis will approach the topic from a Social Movements Theory perspective to identify, explore and evaluate the performances of major grassroot movements that took part in mass-protests in the 2011 ‘Arab Spring’. Crucially, it will assess how effective they have been in invoking socio-political and socio-economic changes since. The examination of transformations of such movements from 2011 to present will help inform understanding of political developments in these countries, especially on issues like democratisation and authoritarian resilience.