On December 17, 2010, a Tunisian man set himself on fire after the police seized the vegetable cart by which he earned his living. This single act by an unknown figure sent a wave of revolt through the Arab world. It led to the overthrow of governments in Tunisia and Egypt, civil war in Libya, prolonged unrest in Syria and Bahrain, and massive public protests across the region. In this deeply informed and accessible book, Lin Noueihed and Alex Warren draw on years of experience in the Middle East and North Africa to explain how the events of the Arab Spring spread so widely and with such staggering speed. What suddenly drove ordinary Arab people to rise up against their long-entrenched rulers? Noueihed and Warren contend that, although the exact causes were different in each country, an explosive mix was common to all: widening economic inequalities, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedom, and access to independent TV news, social media, and mobile phones. The authors explore these economic, political, and media developments, consider the impact of Western responses to the uprisings, and discuss the possibilities for a free, democratic Arab world in the future.
The overall scope and breadth of the work makes it deserving of special recognition. The authors personal experiences are combined well with a riveting narrative that plays especially well in chronicling the 'battleground states'. --James Denselow--James Denselow"Huffington Post" (07/16/2012)
| List of Illustrations | p. vii |
| Acknowledgements | p. viii |
| Map | p. x |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| The Roots of Rage | p. 9 |
| An Arab Malaise | p. 11 |
| Bread, Oil and Jobs | p. 24 |
| The Media Revolution | p. 44 |
| The Battlegrounds | p. 61 |
| Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution | p. 63 |
| Egypt: The Pharaoh Falls | p. 96 |
| Bahrain: An Island Divided | p. 135 |
| Libya's Revolution from Above | p. 164 |
| Disintegrating Yemen | p. 195 |
| The Struggle for Syria | p. 215 |
| The New Arab Politics | p. 243 |
| The Kings' Dilemma | p. 245 |
| The Islamist Resurgence | p. 263 |
| Embracing The Void | p. 284 |
| Afterword | p. 301 |
| Endnotes | p. 308 |
| Bibliography and Sources | p. 332 |
| Index | p. 339 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9780300180862
ISBN-10: 0300180861
Audience:
General
Format:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 304
Published: 1st May 2012
Publisher: Yale University Press
Dimensions (cm): 24.5 x 17.0
x 3.7
Weight (kg): 0.757