Perspectives Middle East & North Africa #2: People's Power - The Arab World in Revolt
The self-immolation of young and jobless Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi in the provincial town of Sidi Bouzid, being deprived of his vegetable stand and humiliated by the authorities, triggered popular movements and historic events in the Arab World completely unexpected in their magnitude…
… but were they really that unexpected? Have not generations of activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens for decades tirelessly pointed to the repressive practices of their governments? Was it not common knowledge that thousands were executed, imprisoned, exiled, and dissent silenced in many other ways; was not testimony after testimony collected, and report after report submitted? Did not countless experts, Arab and foreign, repeatedly stress the need for comprehensive political reforms, for economic opportunities for the growing youth population, for a redistribution of wealth, and the establishment of accountable and transparent governance?
Since the events started to unfold in December 2010, much has been speculated about the Arab “Spring,” “Awakening” or “Renaissance.”
Will these popular revolts translate into sustainable change? Will counter-movements emerge, once citizens do not feel that their lives have improved? In what way will foreign interests determine the course of events?
The authors in this special edition of “Perspectives Middle East” address the above questions and many more. The edition seeks to offer a forum for a diversity of voices and viewpoints – ranging from in-depth analytical insights to opinion pieces and testimonies.
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Table of contents
Editorial - People’s Power: The Arab World in Revolt
A Revolution of Ideas
The Arab Revolts: Ten Tentative Observations - Mouin Rabbani
Revolutions Bring Down Ideas As Well! - Fawaz Traboulsi
The Revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt: The People Without Populism - Ahmad Beydoun
What the People Want… - Mohammed Ali Atassi
Revolutions for Democracy - Hussein Yaakoub
Arab Streets and Arab Publics: A New Political Culture?
The “Arab Spring:” Rebirth or Final Throes of Pan-Arabism? - Yassine Temlali
A New Arab Street in Post-Islamist Times - Asef Bayat
What Next for the “Arab Street?” - Muhammad Ali Khalidi and Terry Regier
The Other Face of the January Revolution: The People’s Desire to Liberate Their Language! - Mansoura Ez-Eldin
Revolutions in Real Time: The Mediatization of Political Struggle
The Role of Al-Jazeera (Arabic) in the Arab Revolts of 2011 - Aref Hijjawi
Media Lives Up to Its Name as Game Changers in Spreading Arab Revolutions - Magda Abu-Fadil
Social Media and the Revolutions: How the Internet Revived the Arab Public Sphere and Digitalized Activism - Doreen Khoury
Digital Activism: Arabs Can Do It Themselves - Interview with Sami Ben Gharbia
Portrait: Slim Amamou – From Digital Activist to State Secretary - Eva Lehnen
The Social Costs of Authoritarianism
Whither the Political and Social Movement in Arab Countries: Can We Expect a New Arab Renaissance? - Adib Nehme
Arab Leaders and Western Countries: Swapping Democracy for Business Interests - Ibrahim Saif
The Revolutions of the Arab Region: Socio-economic Questions at the Heart of Successful Ways Forward - Ziad Abdel Samad and Kinda Mohamadieh
Feeding the Arab Uprisings - Rami Zurayk
Freedom Is the Prerequisite for Bread - Interview with Ibrahim Awad
“The People Demand...” the Downfall or the Reform of the Regime?
The Youth Revolution: A First Reading of the Social and Cultural Conditions Surrounding the Tunisian Revolution - Mehdi Mabrouk
What Kind of Transition for Egypt? - Issandr El Amrani
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and the 25 January Revolution - Dalal Bizri
Yemen’s Revolution: The Lack of Public Reasoning - Nadia Al-Sakkaf
Bahrain: Change of the Regime or Changes Within the Regime? - Mostafa Abdulla
A Tense Syria in a Changing Arab World - Yassin al-Haj Salih
It is Imperative that the International Community Sends a Clear Message - Interview with Anas Abdah and Astepho Ablahad
Libyan Re-independence and Reclaiming the Revolution - Ghazi Gheblawi
Algeria, or the Desire for a Future - Ghania Mouffok
The Arab Revolutions-in-the-Making and Palestine - George Giacaman
Distorted Democracy: Democratic Transformation and Sectarian Identities in Iraq after 2003 - Anbara Abu-Ayyash
The Lebanese “Secularist” Movement in the Shadow of the Arab Democratic Movements - Hassan Abbas and Hussein Yaakoub
Testimonies
Heroic Resolve in the Face of the Omnipresent Machine of Oppression: Recounting the Events of the Tunisian Revolution - Malek Sghiri
Fear and Revolution in Libya - Nahla Daoud
The Price of the Divide on Libya: Why I Support the No Fly Zone - Tasnim Qutait
Encounters on the Margin of Revolution - Muzna Al-Masri
Participation and Justice
In the Wake of Arab Revolts: Women’s Rights in the Balance - Interview with Hanan Abdel Rahman-Rabbani
We Are Not Accomplices to Power! A New Role for the Judiciary - Interview with Nizar Saghieh
A Chronicle of Legislative Developments in the Aftermath of the Tunisian Revolution: A Revolution Seeks the Means to Succeed! - Wahid Ferchichi
Nothing Was Ever Brought to Trial - Interview with Magda Adly
International and Security Politics
American Policies: Debating National Interests - Raed Fakeeh
EU-Libya Agreements on Refugees and Asylum Seekers: The Need for a Reassessment - Urs Fruehauf
Goodbye Free Libya? A Report from Benghazi - Nicolas Pelham
The Securitization of Political Rule: Security Domination of Arab Regimes and the Prospects for Democratization - Mouin Rabbani