On the 17 December 2010, one month before Tunisian President Ben Ali was to step down, a street vendor in Sidi Bouzid set himself on fire in protest at the harassment and humiliation that he faced from municipal authorities. Mohammed Bouazizi’s heroic act of martyrdom sparked a revolution that spread across Tunisia and then throughout the Arab world.

The successful momentum of the revolution in Tunisia awoke a region that has suffered under a long line of authoritarian regimes. Arabs from all walks of life are standing up to their oppressors and through protest are redefining the power relationships which long governed Arab politics. Despite a decade spent in the west discussing the threat of Islamic terror, Arabs are not turning to transnational jihad, but a disciplined refusal of violence by citizens which is challenging national and international politics as we know it. Return to Arab Awakening

Egypt’s unfinished revolution

Maggie Osama 19 December 2011
Although Mubarak was toppled in an 18-day uprising, getting rid of thirty years of corruption and oppression has proven to be a harder task. In a powerful photo essay, an Egyptian photographer explores the latest chapter in the Egyptian revolution: the November uprising.

Tunisia: The Arab Spring’s first president, almost

Kacem Jlidi 13 December 2011
While there is hope that Tunisia’s first democratically elected president marks a fresh start, only time will tell if he can satisfy the expectations of his people.

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.

The politics of Egypt’s elections

Andrea Teti and Gennaro Gervasio 5 December 2011
The military may wish to maintain its economic and political stranglehold, the Brotherhood may feel its time has come, and progressive groups may want to push for real change. But for the time being the Egyptian people remain an enigma.

The end of military rule in Egypt is inevitable

Khalil al-Anani 28 November 2011
SCAF’s leaders do not have the mechanisms necessary to tighten their grip on power: a coherent ideology, a political organization, and a platform for modernization. That is why military rule in Egypt will not ultimately prevail.

Why I am boycotting Egypt's election

Tarek Shalaby 21 November 2011
With millions of Egyptians set to head to the polls on November 28, one blogger and activist argues that the only way to protect the ideals of the revolution is to boycott the election. A boycott is a vote against Egypt's military rulers and an important step in the road to democratic reform.

Tunisia: zero-sum game?

Monica Marks 15 November 2011
Tunisians are struggling to come to grips with the implications of their recent election. Despite widespread jubilation, they remain deeply cynical over the future of their politics as a whole.

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

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.

Solidarity letter from Cairo

Comrades from Cairo 25 October 2011
A letter of solidarity to those in the United States currently participating in the 'occupy' protests. Citing a common struggle, the letter calls for continued occupations from a global youth that have grown weary with the 'current order of things.'

Tunisia: Feminist Fall?

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 the final part of a three part article Kristine Goulding argues that if a 'feminist fall' does not come to fruition, it will be because the citizens of Tunisia have shown democratically that feminism is not consummate on their agenda.

Tunisia: Arab Spring, Islamist Summer

Kristine Goulding 25 October 2011
Tunisia has voted in the first open and fair election in the region. In part two of a three part article Kristine Goulding warns against framing Islamism in direct opposition to women's rights. The Arab Spring redefined the roles of both women and the Islamist al-Nahda, and the two cannot be seen as mutually exclusive

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?

Egypt’s souring transition

Khalil al-Anani 19 October 2011
For the junta, the transition is not and maybe should never be a complete rupture with the old system, inevitably at their expense and a threat to their entrenched economic and social privileges.

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.

Egypt: does the revolution include the Copts?

Nelly van Doorn-Harder 10 October 2011
Sectarian clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians highlight the recurring question about what role Copts will play in the new Egyptian political system. Can the new generation that waves signs with both cross and crescent in Tahrir Square help reduce the violence?

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.

The fight over democratic norms in Egypt

Kevin Russell 22 September 2011
A relatively stable Egypt now has the challenge of establishing a legitimate democracy. This is a long journey, however, in a country where keeping the military and government honest has taken precedence over supporting a political party that might one day be in charge of government.

Part 2. Tunisie Profonde: spring, summer and the coming elections

Amanda Sebestyen 20 September 2011
On her return from Tunisia, the author kept in touch with some of the young people in the south, and began a diary recording their ongoing struggle. We publish as in Kasserine, talk is of a general strike and death threats in Tunis.

Tunisia: brief encounters, Part 1

Amanda Sebestyen 20 September 2011
The author, who travelled to Tunisia last April, recorded her multicultural experiences at a time of revolution to share, as requested, with the outside world. In Part Two, she has kept in touch with some of the young people in the south to update us on the grim realities of their ongoing struggle as the October elections approach.

Columnist of the Week

Ali Gokpinar

Why use violence against peaceful protesters?

Syria: 'cold war redux'?

Syria: the imperative of de-escalation
Julien Barnes Dacey and Daniel Levy

Syrian: is blood always thicker than water?
Rita from Syria

Turkey’s Syria quagmire takes a new turn
Firdevs Robinson

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Rap and the Arab Spring

Interview with Arab rappers Ibn Thabit and Deeb

Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3

Full Event, Rap and the Arab Spring

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Our Editors

Bassam Gergi

Bassam Gergi

Associate Editor of Arab Awakening is pursuing an M.Phil in Comparative Government at Oxford University

Mazen Zoabi

Mazen Zoabi

Translation Editor of Arab Awakening is a psychology graduate with an interest in film

Mali in crisis

The Mali effect
Stephen Ellis

Mali, and remote-control war
Paul Rogers

Qatar intervening in northern Mali?
Mehdi Lazar

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