Perspectives - Political Analysis and Commentary from the Middle East is a publication series of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung’s offices in Beirut and Ramallah provides a platform for analysis and viewpoints of experts from the region
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.
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, Eva Lehnen, Adib Nehme, Ibrahim Saif, Ziad Abdel Samad, Kinda Mohamadieh, Rami Zurayk, Mehdi Mabrouk, Issandr El Amrani, Dalal Bizri, Nadia Sakkaf, Yassin al-Haj Salih, Ghazi Gheblawi, Ghania Mouffok, George Giacaman, Anbara Abu-Ayyash, Hassan Abbas, Malek Sghiri, Nahla Daoud, Muzna Al-Masri, Raed Fakeeh, Urs Fruehauf, Wahid Ferchichi, Tasnim Qutait and Nicolas Pelham.
Download the whole publication (PDF; 286 pages, 3.06MB)
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Single Articles
Revolution of Ideas
- The Arab Revolts - Ten Tentative Observations by Mouin Rabbani (PDF; 344KB)
- Revolutions Bring Down Ideas As Well! by Fawaz Traboulsi (PDF; 356KB)
- The Revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt - The People without Populism by Ahmad Beydoun (PDF; 360KB)
- What the people want… by Mohammed Ali Atassi (PDF; 356KB)
- Revolutions for Democracy by Hussein Yaakoub (PDF; 376KB)
Arab Streets and Arab Publics: A New Political Culture?
- The “Arab Spring” - Rebirth or Final Throes of Pan-Arabism? by Yassine Temlali (PDF; 352KB)
- A New Arab Street in Post-Islamist Times by Asef Bayat (PDF; 340KB)
- What Next for the “Arab Street”? by Muhammad Ali Khalidi and Terry Regier (PDF; 360KB)
- The Other Face of the January Revolution -
The People’s Desire to Liberate their Language! by Mansoura Ez-Eldin (PDF; 364KB)
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; 356KB)
- Media Live Up to Name as Game Changers in Spreading-
Arab Revolutions by Magda Abu-Fadil (PDF; 560KB) - Social Media and the Revolutions by Doreen Khoury (PDF; 352KB)
- Digital Activism - Arabs Can Do It Themselves. Interview with Sami Ben Gharbia (PDF; 368KB)
- Portrait - Slim Amamou – From Digital Activist to State Secretary by Eva Lehnen (PDF; 360KB)
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; 652KB) - Arab Leaders and Western Countries -
Swapping Democracy for Business Interests by Ibrahim Saif (PDF; 352KB) - The Revolutions of the Arab Region - Socio-economic Questions at the Heart of Successful Ways Forward by Ziad Abdel Samad and Kinda Mohamadieh (PDF; 368KB)
- Feeding the Arab Uprisings by Rami Zurayk (PDF; 380KB)
- Freedom is the Prerequisite for Bread. Interview with Ibrahim Awad (PDF; 344KB)
“The People Demand...” the Downfall or Reform of the Regime?
- The Youth Revolution - A First Reading of the Social and Cultural Conditions
Surrounding the Tunisian Revolution by Mehdi Mabrouk (PDF; 400KB) - What Kind of Transition for Egypt? by Issandr El Amrani (PDF; 340KB)
- Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and the 25 January Revolution by Dalal Bizri (PDF; 388KB)
- Yemen’s Revolution - The Lack of Public Reasoning by Nadia Al-Sakkaf
- Bahrain: Change of the Regime or Changes within the Regime? by Mostafa Abdulla (PDF; 468KB)
- A Tense Syria in a Changing Arab World by Yassin al-Haj Salih (PDF; 392KB)
- Libyan Re-independence and Reclaiming the Revolution by Ghazi Gheblawi (PDF; 332KB)
- Algeria, or the Desire for a Future by Ghania Mouffok (PDF; 352KB)
- The Arab Revolutions-in-the-Making and Palestine by George Giacaman (PDF; 344KB)
- Distorted Democracy - Democratic Transformation and Sectarian Identities in Iraq after 2003 by Anbara Abu-Ayyash (PDF; 376KB)
- The Lebanese “Secularist” Movement in the Shadow of the Arab Democratic Movements by Hassan Abbas and Hussein Yaakoub (PDF; 356KB)
Testimonies
- Recounting the Events of the Tunisian Revolution - Heroic Resolve in the Face of the Omnipresent Machine of Oppression: by Malek Sghiri (PDF; 380KB)
- Fear and Revolution in Libya by Nahla Daoud (PDF; 344KB)
- Encounters on the Margin of Revolution by Muzna Al-Masri (PDF; 348KB)
Participation and Justice
- In the Wake of Arab Revolts: Women’s Rights in the Balance. Interview with Hanan Abdel Rahman-Rabbani (PDF; 356KB)
- We Are Not Accomplices to Power! A New Role for the Judiciary. Interview with Nizar Saghieh (PDF; 352KB)
- A Chronicle of Legislative Developments in the Aftermath of the Tunisian Revolution - A Revolution Seeks the Means to Succeed! by Wahid Ferchichi (PDF; 388KB)
- Nothing Was Ever Brought to Trial. Interview with Magda Adly (PDF; 352KB)
International and Security Politics
- American Policies - Debating National Interests by Raed Fakeeh (PDF; 360KB)
- EU-Libya Agreements on Refugees and Asylum Seekers - The Need for a Reassessment by Urs Fruehauf (PDF; 352KB)
- The Price of the Divide on Libya - Why I support the No Fly Zone by Tasnim Qutait (PDF; 328KB)
- Goodbye Free Libya? - A Report from Benghazi by Nicolas Pelham (PDF; 348KB)
- The Securitization of Political Rule - Security Domination of Arab Regimes and the Prospects for Democratization by Mouin Rabbani (PDF; 344KB)