For those countries undergoing social upheaval, the Arab Spring has had a direct impact, but what about the ‘others’? The "Spring" of other Arab nations has shaped regional policy and had an impact far beyond what is readily apparent. Syrian unrest has allowed Lebanon to finally play a role in the Arab uprisings. Saudi Arabia must struggle to cope with interests at home and abroad. Israel is witnessing the birth of a middle class movement in the form of J14. This section will map the hidden shoots of the spring. Return to Arab Awakening

Who’s heard of the ‘African Spring’?

Clive Gabay 25 July 2012

If the under or mis-reported uprisings, protests, revolts and changes of regime in many parts of Africa over the past few years have told us anything, it is that politics on the continent does not always, or mostly, take place at the point of a gun.

Palestine: the precarious present

Phil Leech and Anan Quzmar 19 July 2012

The Palestinian Authority is gazing into an abyss, and it is beating people in the streets.

A Chinese spring?

Wang Dingnan 12 June 2012

While Chinese petitioners and dissidents hold protest rallies every day in defiance of unaccountable officials, few of them question the necessity of upholding a strong executive authority. Thoughts on revolution and reform by a Chinese student in Cairo.

Is the specter of the Arab Spring haunting Ethiopia?

Alemayehu Fentaw 4 June 2012

Although Ethiopia has never been a breeding ground for Islamism, the government has started to interfere in religious affairs in order to preempt radicalization. This strategy will most likely backfire, sowing the very seeds of political Islam that it seeks to keep at bay.

J14 and the movement for social justice in Israel

Sylvaine Bulle 7 April 2012

Israel's J14 protest movement is a new breed of movement in search of a society which has a mature accommodation with its diversity. The priority given to social problems over cultural issues can be traced back to anthropological and moral principles that lie at the heart of Zionism. But its critique of the many distortions created by the pull of national sovereignty has thrown up a new definition of occupation. 

February 20 movement: reflections of a young activist

Sarra El Idrissi 30 March 2012

The 20th February movement was seen by some as elitist and too focused on political demands, while the people were more concerned with daily economic hardship. The main challenge for young activists now is to re-establish a social dialogue within Moroccan society, says Sarra El Idrissi

Democracy imperilled in the Maldives

Stephen Zunes 8 March 2012
The United States and much of the international community has understandably been focused on increasingly violent conflict in Syria. However, attention also needs to be given to the Muslim people of this Asian nation and their commitment to the power of nonviolent action

Fighting to remain relevant? The PKK in 2012

Franco Galdini 19 February 2012
The AKP has gained the support of 50 percent of the Kurdish population via cooption rather than coercion. That means that its recent crackdown on Kurdish civil society in general - and the PKK in particular - risks making the latter more popular than it actually is in the eyes of the Kurdish general public.

Lessons from the Maldives for the Middle East

Andrew Wigley 16 February 2012
The coup d’état in the Maldives doesn’t augur well for democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. Andrew Wigley argues that the process of detoxifying a nation after dictatorship may take decades

Algeria: reform or securitization of civil society?

Mélissa Rahmouni 30 January 2012
While most of the world attention has been focused elsewhere, the early days of 2012 have seen a series of strikes and protests in Algeria. Is this the long awaited Algerian awakening?

Morocco's silent revolution

Valentina Bartolucci 17 January 2012
Morocco’s experience of the Arab spring of 2011, including constitutional reform and a parliamentary election, exemplifies the country’s political distinctiveness within the region. The events of 2012 will demonstrate how far hopes of real change can be sustained, says Valentina Bartolucci.

The Saudi response to the ‘Arab spring’: containment and co-option

Madawi Al-Rasheed 10 January 2012

Saudi Arabia’s response to the ‘Arab spring’ has been an attempt to co-opt movements for change in a bid to maintain the status quo. Madawi Al-Rasheed talks to Deniz Kandiyoti about the contradictions of a ruling elite that promotes a conservative Islam, that threatens women’s existing rights abroad – as in Tunisia and Egypt – while it poses as the emancipator of women at home

Lebanon: calm before the storm?

Filippo Dionigi 31 December 2011
The momentous events of 2011 in the Arab world have widely overshadowed Lebanon. With neighbour Syria continuing to be embroiled in unrest and growing sectarian civil conflict, Lebanon's future is full of opportunities and risks.

The Arab revolutions and “sitting on the fence” on Palestine

Muath Al Wari 9 December 2011
The last twelve months have largely been about Arabs trying to put an end to the denial brought about by a coalition of internal, and more importantly, external forces to Arab agency. Palestine is the constant, tangible, and often lethal manifestation of this narrative.

Why the ‘Arab Spring’ hasn’t reached Sudan

Elfadil Ibrahim 6 December 2011
What is it about the nation in Libya and Egypt’s own backyards, which in the face of poorer and worsening conditions, continues to be characterised by a culture of complacency?

Columnist of the Week

Omer Harari

Israel and the vertical politics of interruptions

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


Rita from Syria

Latest article:

Syrian colours: the greys

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

Democracy and Islam

Sami Zubaida writes that the political fields and social spaces of many countries in the region have been opened, however chaotically.

Tariq Ramadan argues that we must look at the Arab Awakening in economic as well as political terms.

Mali in crisis

The Mali effect
Stephen Ellis

Mali, and remote-control war
Paul Rogers

Qatar intervening in northern Mali?
Mehdi Lazar

Follow us on twitter

openAwakening on Twitter

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

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

Partners

Revolution
We would like to thank the Network for Social Change for their generous support of our work

Syndicate content