Suchergebnisse

As in Bill Clinton's famous quip, 'It's the economy, stupid!' the revolts of the Arab Spring are often treated as a single monolithic phenomenon born of systemic economic pressures. A critical look at this dominant narrative reveals some of its internal contradictions as well as its inability to account for differences between Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain. In order to evaluate the relative place occupied by the economy and politics in the grievances voiced by the populations in question, this article begins with a comparative political economic analysis of the three uprisings. Highlighting the unique role played by middle class youth in all of them, it notes that, despite the targeted measures taken on their behalf by authoritarian regimes, young people suffered from both high unemployment and relative deprivation. Yet economic grievance was not always the principal source of revolt and the relative importance of the middle classes, the poor, workers' organizations and pro-democracy movements varied from one country to the next. Political discontent thus weighed more heavily in Bahrain and Egypt than in Tunisia. The existence of divisions within the ruling elite significantly contributed to the politicization of middle class youth and opened a space of mobilization for them around democratic demands. Adapted from the source document.

"Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Arab world has undergone a series of radical transformations. One of the most significant is the resurgence of activist and puritanical forms of religion presenting as viable alternatives to existing social, cultural and political practices. The rise in sectarianism and violence in the name of religion has left scholars searching for adequate conceptual tools that might generate a clearer insight into these interconnected conflicts. In 'Striking from the Margins', leading authorities in their field propose new analytical frameworks to facilitate greater understanding of the fragmentation and devolution of the state in the Arab world. Challenging the revival of well-worn theories in cultural and post-colonial studies, they provide novel contributions on issues ranging from military formations, political violence in urban and rural settings, trans-regional war economies, the crystallisation of sect-based authorities and the restructuring of tribal networks."--Back cover

In this volume, researchers, scholars, and active participants explore political initiatives in the realms of media, artists' collectives, rebel enclaves, neighborhood councils, fledgling citizen campaigns, and elsewhere. With rich ethnographic detail, these studies pay special attention to regional dynamics, cross-border learning, and the intellectual history of ideas central to the uprisings.