Arab democrats need ‘realistic pathways for change’
As a fresh wave of protests generates speculation about an Arab Spring 2.0, the challenge for MENA democrats is to move beyond calls for regime change and focus on building… Read more »
Category: Arab Spring
Pervasive protests affirm civic activism, but carry serious risks
People all over the world are resorting to mass demonstrations to express grievances and press unmet demands, notes Aryeh Neier, President Emeritus of the Open Society Foundations and a founder… Read more »
New social movement challenging Iraq’s sectarian politics
The largest mass protests to hit Iraq and Lebanon in decades are posing a direct challenge to the influence Iran has gained in both countries as demonstrators seek to overturn… Read more »
Arab Spring 2.0? Understanding the New Wave of Protests
A new wave of protests and demonstrations has erupted across the Middle East and North Africa over the past 9 months, the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program observes. In… Read more »
Liberal democracy’s 1989 promise ‘a squandered opportunity’
Two great earthquakes shaped the present global order. The first, in 1989, seemed to promise an irresistible march towards liberal democracy and open markets. The opportunity was squandered by those… Read more »
Explaining the global protest wave
Sixty-three people died over the weekend in a crackdown by security forces against ongoing anti-government protests [HT: CFR], according to the semi-official Iraq High Commission for Human Rights. Iraq is… Read more »
What drives democratization? Success of mass protests depends on who is protesting
Many observers fear that democracy is currently at risk, some blaming the less-educated working classes, supposedly more inclined to support authoritarian populist politicians and parties, for the democratic backlash. Political analysts… Read more »
The protests in Lebanon and Iraq are really about…..
In both Iraq and Lebanon’s unfolding protests, people’s demands for accountable governance, economic relief and an end to corruption stand at odds with identity-based sectarian solidarity, argues Bassel F. Salloukh,… Read more »
Tunisia’s ‘Robocop’ revolution: No easy lessons from new Arab democracy
Despite Tunisia’s vote for change, enduring miseries are driving an exodus of youth, Reuters reports. A survey by the Arab Barometer research network said a third of all Tunisians, and… Read more »
Turkish attack endangers Kurds’ resilient ‘democratic experiment’
The Turkish attack on Syria endangers a remarkable democratic experiment by the Kurds, argues James L. Gelvin, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of California, Los Angeles. Syrian… Read more »