Before 2011, the Middle East was often referred to as an ‘institutional wasteland.’ Arab regimes were determined to prevent the growth of civil society or democratic institutions. There existed no political space for the millions of Arabs who were seeking to emerge from decades of political and economic failures.

A large group of dynamic Arabs are eager to transform their societies. They are now at the forefront of a global push to connect citizens and modernize political structures. In Egypt they are organizing themselves into revolutionary committees, the internet is abuzz with Tunisian bloggers, and social media has brought the painful struggles of Syrian revolutionaries to the homes of millions of westerners. As Arabs continue to find new ways to innovate, we will race to keep up. Return to Arab Awakening

Visible players: the power and the risks for young feminists

Jennifer Allsopp 21 April 2012

From the student protests in Chile, to the protests of the 'Arab spring' in the MENA region, the debate among young feminists about how to reclaim public space reveals tensions between an individualist model of autonomy and a collectivist reclamation of public space. Jenny Allsopp reports on day two of the AWID Forum 2012

Kerbala anthems in Azadi Park

Christine M. Van Den Toorn 18 April 2012

Sports provide a rare space and North-South bridging opportunity for increased interaction between the Kurdish and Arab citizens of Iraq. 

Saudi Arabia turns deaf ear to Olympic women

Eman Al Nafjan 18 April 2012

This is not just about including Saudi women in the London 2012. It’s much more far-reaching and serious than that. It is an issue of silence and concurrence from the international community regarding a nation’s outright breach of international agreements and conventions.

"We are not women, we are Egyptians": spaces of protest and representation

Nadia Taher 6 April 2012

A focus on the spaces where women asserted their public presence in the Egyptian revolution reveals a great deal about how changes in power relations between women and men can contribute to the transformatory potential of the revolution, says Nadia Taher.

Human Rights Watch Film Festival London 2012 (21st - 30th March)

Mazen Zoabi 21 March 2012

Arab Awakening's Mazen Zoabi peeks into the realities of life as a Middle Eastern woman. A review of two fascinating films screened at the HRW Film Festival.

Uncertainty for the future of the Moroccan women’s movement

Heidi Basch-Harod 1 March 2012
For the past twenty years Moroccan women, from the liberal camp to the Islamist, have campaigned for equal rights for women. Their struggle has borne many triumphs and is gradually beginning to change the lives of women throughout the country. But how will they face the new challenges presented by Morocco's first Islamist-majority government?

Hip hop and the Arab uprisings

Ulysses 24 February 2012
People shouldn't divide Arabic rappers into pro- and anti-revolution camps and castigate one side - the Arabic hip-hip scene is too nuanced and complex for that. But if unity only comes at the expense of social justice, the Arab world will be even worse off than before.

Democracy and its definitions: a talk by Donatella Della Porta

Veronica Barassi 17 February 2012
Presenting the data gathered through an extensive, cross-national research project carried out in different European countries, Della Porta argued that the idea of democracy proposed by contemporary social movements is radically different from the logic of representation and delegation proposed by liberal governments.

Women, democracy and dictatorship

Sami Zubaida 15 February 2012

In the early and middle decades of the twentieth century it was always Middle Eastern dictators who embarked on policy and legislation which liberated and empowered women in both family and society. The dictators liberated women in the good days, but retreated under pressure, and it was the populists ushered in by ‘democracy’ who oppressed women.

What Iran wants from female religious authority: piety - yes, expertise in fiqh - no

Mirjam Künkler 13 February 2012
More than a hundred women's seminaries have been set up by the Iranian state since the 1979 revolution. Yet the number of women candidates standing in next month's parliamentary election is the lowest for twenty years, Mirjam Künkler explores why this may be so

Meet the ‘new’ Hamas: strategic shift or temporary deviation from a violent path?

Benedetta Berti 15 January 2012
Contrary to the widespread assumption that the recent ‘nonviolent turn’ would be a new and unprecedented development in the evolution of Hamas, the history of the group reveals a constant internal tension along this political-military line

Islamism and secularism in Tunisia

Rory McCarthy 14 January 2012
In Tunisia at least, radical Salafism is not just a challenge to secularists: it’s also a challenge to moderate Islamists like Ennahda.

Why are Egyptians and the west surprised by the Islamists' victory in post-revolutionary Egypt?

Solava Ibrahim 13 January 2012
What should liberals do to play any effective role in Egypt's post-revolutionary parliament? It is time to stop moaning and start acting

Europe and democracy-promotion: making good

Jacqueline Hale 13 January 2012
The Arab uprisings of 2011 are provoking the European Union into a rethink of its approach to encouraging democracy in its neighbourhood. A European Endowment for Democracy with a new kind of mandate could be at the centre, says Jacqueline Hale

Reflecting the public will in Egypt: between rhetoric and institutionalism

Heba Abou Shnief 7 January 2012
Despite the success of the January 25 Revolution, Tahrir Square at best offers a powerful platform for monologue on some of the most profound democratic challenges the new Egypt faces.

From eastern Europe, lessons for Egypt’s newborn democracy

Andy Ignatov 7 January 2012
Ukraine and Georgia - two countries in a region undergoing dramatic change in the past two decades - can help Egypt examine the circumstances in which high aspirations do or do not lead to a successful transformation.

Hip Hop Revolution

Ulysses 16 December 2011
In the midst of the Arab Spring there is a group of dedicated young hip hop artists who are using their medium to disseminate revolutionary ideas. This piece documents how hip hop has impacted on the way young people interact with the revolution in Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Libya and elsewhere.

Taxation: Bahrain's alternative path to political reform

Hasan Tariq Al Hasan 6 December 2011

Bahrain's uprising was curtailed by a brutal crackdown. Could the rising sectarianism and tense Sunni-Shia divide be reversed through taxation?

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.

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.

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

Support Arab Awakening

If you would like to support the work of the Arab Awakening editors, please get in touch with the Editor: Rosemary Bechler

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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We would like to thank the Mulberry Trust for their generous support of our work

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