Publications

The Middle East after the outbreak of mass protests against authoritarian regimes is undeniably new and different. The novelty does not lie in mass protests or the mobilization of the so-called “Arab street.” But since 1952, no country in the region,apart from Iran, has ever before witnessed mass upheavals resulting in the ouster of entrenched regimes. Thus, the wave of protests that began to wash over the region in late 2010 is clear evidence that something momentous has occurred. Perhaps most significantly, public opinion can no longer be ignored or stifled by repressive means, even in the most ruthless of the so-called “national security states,” and those who observe, deal with, or live in the Middle East can no longer assume that stasis is tantamount to stability.