Perspectives #2 May 2011, Special Issue: People's Power - The Arab World in Revolt - Statehood & Participation
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Perspectives #2 May 2011, Special Issue: 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.
Single Articles
Revolution of Ideas
- The Arab Revolts: Ten Tentative Observations by Mouin Rabbani (PDF; 364KB)
- Revolutions Bring Down Ideas As Well! by Fawaz Traboulsi (PDF; 376KB)
- The Revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt: The People Without Populism by Ahmad Beydoun (PDF; 380KB)
- What the people want… by Mohammed Ali Atassi (PDF; 380KB)
Arab Streets and Arab Publics: A New Political Culture?
- The “Arab Spring” - Rebirth or Final Throes of Pan-Arabism? by Yassine Temlali (PDF; 372KB)
- A New Arab Street in Post-Islamist Times by Asef Bayat (PDF; 360KB)
- What Next for the “Arab Street”? by Muhammad Ali Khalidi and Terry Regier (PDF; 380KB)
- The Other Face of the January Revolution:
The People’s Desire to Liberate their Language! by Mansoura Ez-Eldin (PDF; 384KB)
Revolutions in Real Time: The Mediatization of Political Struggle
- The Role of Al-Jazeera (Arabic) in the Arab Revolts of 2011 by Aref Hijjawi (PDF; 376KB)
- Media Live Up to Name as Game Changers in Spreading
Arab Revolutions by Magda Abu-Fadil (PDF; 592KB) - Social Media and the Revolutions: How the Internet Revived the Arab Public Sphere and Digitalized Activism by Doreen Khoury (PDF; 380KB)
- Digital Activism: Arabs Can Do It Themselves. Interview with Sami Ben Gharbia (PDF; 388KB)
- Portrait: Slim Amamou – From Digital Activist to State Secretary by Eva Lehnen (PDF; 384KB)
The Social Costs of Authoritarianism
- Whither the Political and Social Movement in Arab Countries:
Can we Expect a New Arab Renaissance? by Adib Nehme (PDF; 676KB) - Arab Leaders and Western Countries:
Swapping Democracy for Business Interests by Ibrahim Saif (PDF; 372KB) - The Revolutions of the Arab Region: Socio-economic Questions at the Heart of Successful Ways Forward by Ziad Abdel Samad and Kinda Mohamadieh (PDF; 388KB)
- Feeding the Arab Uprisings by Rami Zurayk (PDF; 408KB)
- Freedom is the Prerequisite for Bread. Interview with Ibrahim Awad (PDF; 368KB)
“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
- What Kind of Transition for Egypt? by Issandr El Amrani (PDF; 360KB)
- Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and the 25 January Revolution by Dalal Bizri (PDF; 408KB)
- Yemen’s Revolution: The Lack of Public Reasoning by Nadia Al-Sakkaf (PDF; 376KB)
- Bahrain: Change of the Regime or Changes within the Regime? by Mostafa Abdulla (PDF; 488KB)
- A Tense Syria in a Changing Arab World by Yassin al-Haj Salih (PDF; 416KB)
- It is Imperative that the International Community Sends a clear Message. Interview with Anas Abdah and Astepho Ablahad (PDF; 408KB)
- Libyan Re-independence and Reclaiming the Revolution by Ghazi Gheblawi (PDF; 356KB)
- Algeria, or the Desire for a Future by Ghania Mouffok (PDF; 372KB)
- The Arab Revolutions-in-the-Making and Palestine by George Giacaman (PDF; 364KB)
- Distorted Democracy: Democratic Transformation and Sectarian Identities in Iraq after 2003 by Anbara Abu-Ayyash (PDF; 404KB)
- The Lebanese “Secularist” Movement in the Shadow of the Arab Democratic Movements by Hassan Abbas and Hussein Yaakoub (PDF; 380KB)
Surrounding the Tunisian Revolution by Mehdi Mabrouk (PDF; 416KB)
Testimonies
- Recounting the Events of the Tunisian Revolution:
Heroic Resolve in the Face of the Omnipresent Machine of Oppression: by Malek Sghiri (PDF; 400KB) - Fear and Revolution in Libya by Nahla Daoud (PDF; 364KB)
- The Price of the Divide on Libya: Why I Support the No Fly Zone by Tasnim Qutait (PDF; 348KB)
- Encounters on the Margin of Revolution by Muzna Al-Masri (PDF; 372KB)
Participation and Justice
- In the Wake of Arab Revolts: Women’s Rights in the Balance. Interview with Hanan Abdel Rahman-Rabbani (PDF; 380KB)
- We Are Not Accomplices to Power! A New Role for the Judiciary. Interview with Nizar Saghieh (PDF; 376KB)
- A Chronicle of Legislative Developments in the Aftermath of the Tunisian Revolution: A Revolution Seeks the Means to Succeed! by Wahid Ferchichi (PDF; 408KB)
- Nothing Was Ever Brought to Trial. Interview with Magda Adly (PDF; 368KB)
International and Security Politics
- American Policies: Debating National Interests by Raed Fakeeh (PDF; 388KB)
- EU-Libya Agreements on Refugees and Asylum Seekers: The Need for a Reassessment by Urs Fruehauf (PDF; 372KB)
- Goodbye Free Libya? A Report from Benghazi by Nicolas Pelham (PDF; 372KB)
- The Securitization of Political Rule: Security Domination of Arab Regimes and the Prospects for Democratization by Mouin Rabbani (PDF; 368KB)