Living in a revolutionary moment in the Arab world and thereby witnessing history unfold, I often wonder why some left-wing forces have viewed the "revolution" (against authoritarianism) and "resistance" (against imperialism) as opposing, and even contradictory, concepts rather than complementary.
This question does not only concern the Arab region. Participating in the Latin American Sociological Association (ALAS) conference in Lima (Peru) in December, I saw similarities between the pathologies of the Arab left and their colleagues in Latin America.
The current neoliberal order has imposed great changes on the human condition (largely as a result of austerity, increased income inequality, reduced social services). In light of these changes, how should we understand the demands of youth in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Bahrain, Algeria, Hong Kong, Chile and France, especially in the context of their class struggles and other struggles for national/ethnic identity?
