2011, the two winners

Patrice de Beer 22 December 2011
The hopes of liberation from dictatorship and penury shine less brightly at the end of this year of movement, says Patrice de Beer.

The Arab revolution: tensions and challenges

Mariano Aguirre 21 December 2011

The second year of the Arab uprisings opens a complex period in which the potential of the Arab world to move towards democracy and human security will be acutely tested. This makes careful assessment and policymaking by leading actors more essential than ever, says Mariano Aguirre.

The Long and the Quick of Revolution

Anthony Barnett 16 December 2011

This is the Raymond Williams Annual Lecture for 2011, coinciding with the publication of a new 50th anniversary edition of Raymond Williams’ The Long Revolution by Parthian Books, for which Anthony Barnett has written the foreword, also published here this week. In the lecture, he considers the potentially revolutionary events of the past year, starting with a double-democratic crisis in the ruling order, asking why now? and what kind of revolution is under way?

Tunisia: Occupy Bardo

Kacem Jlidi 8 December 2011
Despite Tunisia's successful election in October, there has emerged a remarkable ideological split in the ranks. In Bardo, protesters are pressuring members of the National Constituent Assembly to pass eleven measures to further the goals of the revolution.

Tunisia: how the Egyptian elections look from here

Kacem Jlidi 25 November 2011
Much of the recent coverage of the Tunisian elections focused on how the Ennahda Islamist party topped the polls. In fact, the real victory went to the election process.

Torture and the Arab system, old and new

Vicken Cheterian 23 November 2011

The Arab awakening of 2011 raises hope of an end to the torture and other human-rights violations that have long been endemic in Arab states. But it will be a tough legacy to overcome, says Vicken Cheterian.

Battling for democracy in Tunisia

Abderrazak Guirat 9 November 2011
The run up to the Tunisian elections was filled with a disruptive campaigning that appeared in parallel to electoral campaigns. At the time, a worried Tunisian called for vigilance against manipulative attempts to divert the people’s attention away from real issues. This article was first published on Nawaat.org

Steps to a democratic Libya

Sara ElGaddari 9 November 2011
This misguided but determined focus on the ‘continuing’ threat of Sha’ria law in Libya and other North African counterparts is obscuring the real twin issues of freedom of expression and equal rights for all.

Tunisia's elections: consolidating democracy

Ayman Ayoub 25 October 2011
The first democratic elections of the Arab spring are a moment of pride and hope for Tunisia and far beyond, says Ayman Ayoub.

Tunisia: Women's winter of discontent

Kristine Goulding 25 October 2011
Nine months after the overthrow of the former president, Tunisia has voted in the first open and fair election in the region. In part one of a three part article Kristine Goulding asks: Is a Tunisian feminist fall, driven by local, national and international support, possible? Or will countervailing forces of politics, social pressure and religion prevail?

Democracy in revolution: the Mediterranean moment

Mehmet Dosemeci 18 October 2011
By showing us the possibility of democracy in revolution, they have ignited a revolution in democracy, one that is redefining the meaning of both terms.

Tunisia: wasn’t this what we hoped for?

Fabrizio Tassinari and Rasmus Alenius Boserup 14 October 2011
Following the successful revolution of January 2011, Tunisia has begun to rebuild itself. There are many challenges still to be faced however, amongst them the re-emergence of the Islamist movement, Hizb al-Nahda.

A global revolution is under way

Pedro Silverio Moreno 12 October 2011
It is necessary to find a new system where decisions can only be taken if they have sufficient support from the people to legitimate them. This is why we cannot deny that we have entered into a new era.

Voice of freedom is more powerful than any drone

Jaffar Al-Rikabi 4 October 2011
The killing of Anwar al-Awlaki has dealt Al-Qaeda a major blow, but the more profound challenge to the terrorist group emanates from the spirit of the Jasmine revolutions.

Arab spring: revolution to constitution

Ayman Ayoub 3 October 2011
The Arab uprisings of 2011 can be understood as the striving for a new social contract founded on constitutional and democratic principles, says Ayman Ayoub.

This week's editor

Heather McRobie


Heather McRobie is a regular contributor to 50.50

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European Union stars in Paris. Flickr/notarim. Some rights reserved.

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