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

From Tahrir square to my kitchen

Hania Sholkamy 14 March 2011
Despite the vibrancy of mobilization in Egypt after Mubarak, Hania Sholkamy’s account of the 8th of March demonstration in Tahrir square to mark International Women's day bears witness to the persistent resistance to women’s political participation

Egypt’s new politics: the democratic test

Mansoor Mirza 11 March 2011
Egyptians managed by peaceful protest to force the removal of their president. With barely a pause, they are now engaged in building a constitutional democracy. Mansoor Mirza assesses the leading forces in the emerging political landscape.

Arab insurgencies, women in transition

Rada Ivekovic 8 March 2011

The waves of change in the Arab world have women at the centre. But how will they fare as revolt turns towards a new political and social settlement? Rada Ivekovic considers the emerging balance.

End of ‘1989’?

Saroj Giri 1 March 2011
The Arab world has spoken truth to power in ways that question the celebration of western style democracies and the ‘end of history’ marked by the ‘1989 velvet revolutions’.

Replicating Facebook revolutions: why Ahmadinejad should worry but Mugabe and Hu Jintao can wait it out

Sarah Logan 26 February 2011
Those analysing the feasibility of “Facebook revolutions” in authoritarian countries have so far veered between utopian visions and non-utopian smackdown. These approaches undermine what is in fact a complex process, which may depend on both state resources and types of communication technologies available in a country

The rightful place of gender equality within Islam

Janine Moussa 24 February 2011
An animated discussion is taking place about the relationship between Islam and equality and justice in the context of women’s human rights. How will the democratic uprisings sweeping across the Arab world affect this conversation?

The Arab revolt: transformation to transition

Nadim Shehadi 22 February 2011
A hurricane of change is blowing through the Arab world. Even now, many Arab regimes are still in denial. But it also challenges the west to grasp a new political reality, says Nadim Shehadi.

A great change is sweeping Arab political culture

Issa Khalaf 22 February 2011
All Arab regimes, regardless of regime type, have essentially behaved like dynasties. This is why the essentially secular, expansive, inclusive, internationally-aware neo-nationalism of the young Arabs in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the region offers a revolutionary break from an unending past.

Did the Internet matter in Tunisia and Egypt?

Nabila Ramdani and Tony Curzon Price 18 February 2011
An audio interview in which Nabila Ramdani describes the role of the social networks in the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions – to what extent are Morozov's and Gladwell's arguments proved wrong by events?

The new middle east: a civic revolution

Ramin Jahanbegloo 17 February 2011
The democratic wave sweeping the Arab world, and shared by Iran, opens a new agenda for the civic activists who helped make it possible, says Ramin Jahanbegloo.

Now the party is over, the parties and civil society need to reconstitute themselves in Tahrir Square

Lukas Leuzinger 14 February 2011
Mubarak's totalitarian control of opposition parties and civil society organisations largely delegitimised them. 6 months is a short time to build-up of the essential fabric of democratic organisations that will allow the promise of the revolution to be realised

Why Egypt’s progressives win

Paul Amar 13 February 2011
In the ascendant in Egypt is the socio-political power of a new national-development-oriented coalition of businessmen and military entrepreneurs, as well as the decisive force of micro-enterprise and workers’ organizations consisting of women and youth - a force that portends well. First published on February 08, 2011

The Arab 1989?

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, David Held, and Alia Brahimi 11 February 2011
The uprisings sweeping across the Middle East portend a political transformation as significant as those of 1989. The economic stagnation of the region, the failures of corrupt and repressive autocratic regimes, conjoined with a disenchanted youthful population wired together as never before, have triggered a political struggle few anticipated. Yet 1989 is not an entirely clear point of reference - the emergence of peaceful mass movements of change is a parallel, but the pull of the West, so marked in 1989, is weaker and more complex. Accordingly, the path ahead for these brave, inspiring, challenging movements is more uncertain.

The new middle east: intellectuals and democracy

Ramin Jahanbegloo 3 February 2011
The change that is unfolding across the middle east places an especial responsibility on intellectuals to think civically and engage ethically, says Ramin Jahanbegloo.

Mubarak’s thugs make a mockery of media neutrality

Daniel-Joseph MacArthur-Seal 2 February 2011
Media reporting of today's events in Cairo plays into Mubarak's hands and betrays the journalists risking their lives to expose the violence perpetrated by the regime.

Columnist of the Week

Omer Harari

The boundaries of Israeli unity

Syria: 'cold war redux'?

Syria's war, Israel's trap
Paul Rogers

The Iranian key to the Syrian crisis
Heiko Wimmen

Has Turkey reached a dead-end in Syria?
Firdevs Robinson

oD author detained in Dubai

"Mr. Ulrichsen believes that an article he wrote last summer "The U.A.E.: Holding Back the Tide," may have played a part in his blacklisting."
- Chronicle of Higher Education


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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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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

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