Perspectives #2 May 2011, Special Issue: People's Power - The Arab World in Revolt - Statehood & Participation
Print and Online Publication
Perspectives #2 May 2011, Special Issue: People's Power - The Arab World in Revolt
With Contributions from Mouin Rabbani, Fawaz Traboulsi, Ahmad Beydoun, Mohammed Ali Atassi, Hussein Yaakoub, Yassine Temlali, Asef Bayat, Muhammad Ali Khalidi, Terry Regier, Mansoura Ez-Eldin, Aref Hijjawi, Magda Abu-Fadil, Doreen Khoury
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.
Revolution of Ideas
Arab Streets and Arab Publics: A New Political Culture?
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The “Arab Spring” - Rebirth or Final Throes of Pan-Arabism? by Yassine Temlali (PDF; 372KB)
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A New Arab Street in Post-Islamist Times by Asef Bayat (PDF; 360K
Revolutions in Real Time: The Mediatization of Political Struggle
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The Role of Al-Jazeera (Arabic) in the Arab Revolts of 2011 by Aref Hijjawi (PDF; 376KB)
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Media Live Up to Name as Game Changers in Spreading
Arab Revolutions by Magda Abu-Fadil (PDF; 592KB)
The Social Costs of Authoritarianism
“The People Demand...” the Downfall or Reform of the Regime?
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The Youth Revolution: A First Reading of the Social and Cultural Conditions
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Yemen’s Revolution: The Lack of Public Reasoning by Nadia Al-Sakkaf (PDF; 376KB)
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Bahrain: Change of the Regime or Changes within the Regime? by Mostafa Abdulla (PDF; 488KB)
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Libyan Re-independence and Reclaiming the Revolution by Ghazi Gheblawi (PDF; 356KB)
Testimonies