Why do some individuals participate in risky, anti-regime resistance whereas others abstain? "The Revolution Within" answers this question through an in-depth study of unarmed resistance against Israeli rule in the Palestinian Territories over more than a decade. Despite having strong anti-regime sentiment, Palestinians initially lacked the internal organizational strength often seen as necessary for protest.

This book provides a foundation for understanding participation and mobilization under these difficult conditions. It argues that, under these conditions, integration into state institutions—schools, prisons and courts—paradoxically makes individuals more likely to resist against the state. Diverse evidence drawn from field research—including the first, large-scale survey of participants and non-participants in Palestinian resistance, Arabic language interviews, and archival sources—supports the argument. The book's findings explain how anti-regime resistance can occur even without the strong civil society organizations often regarded as necessary for protest and, thus, suggest new avenues for supporting civil resistance movements.