Le mot révolution, comme l’a bien remarqué Alain Rey, « est devenu très actif dans la mémoire collective des francophones depuis la fin du xviiie siècle ». Yadh Ben Achour examine la révolution ...tunisienne en la replaçant tout d’abord dans son cadre historique, au regard de la théologie politique islamique classique et sous l’angle de l’anthropologie historique, puis en étudiant l’ambiguïté de son déroulement dans le contexte des récentes révolutions arabes.
This book brings together a roster of prominent contributors to present a strategic interactionist perspective on the study of contentious politics in the Middle East in response to the Arab ...uprisings. The common thread among the contributions is an interest in the micro-level interactions between various strategic players, including not only the mobilisation of protestors during the uprisings but also the responses of regimes. The book also examines short to medium-term adaptations of the regimes and the collective action of opponents in the post-uprisings period, as well as the subsequent trajectories of the protesters themselves in the face of new forms of authoritarianism or democratisation.
From a leading scholar of the Middle East and North Africa
comes a new way of thinking about the Arab Spring and the meaning
of revolution. From the standpoint of revolutionary
politics, the Arab ...Spring can seem like a wasted effort. In
Tunisia, where the wave of protest began, as well as in Egypt and
the Gulf, regime change never fully took hold. Yet if the Arab
Spring failed to disrupt the structures of governments, the
movement was transformative in farms, families, and factories,
souks and schools. Seamlessly blending field research,
on-the-ground interviews, and social theory, Asef Bayat shows how
the practice of everyday life in Egypt and Tunisia was
fundamentally altered by revolutionary activity. Women, young
adults, the very poor, and members of the underground queer
community can credit the Arab Spring with steps toward equality and
freedom. There is also potential for further progress, as women's
rights in particular now occupy a firm place in public discourse,
preventing retrenchment and ensuring that marginalized voices
remain louder than in prerevolutionary days. In addition, the Arab
Spring empowered workers: in Egypt alone, more than 700,000 farmers
unionized during the years of protest. Labor activism brought about
material improvements for a wide range of ordinary people and
fostered new cultural and political norms that the forces of
reaction cannot simply wish away. In Bayat's telling, the Arab
Spring emerges as a paradigmatic case of "refolution"-revolution
that engenders reform rather than radical change. Both a detailed
study and a moving appeal, Revolutionary Life identifies
the social gains that were won through resistance.
A surprisingly hopeful assessment of the prospects for human rights in the Middle East, and a blueprint for advancing them The enormous sense of optimism unleashed by the Arab Spring in 2011 soon ...gave way to widespread suffering and despair. Of the many popular uprisings against autocratic regimes, Tunisia's now stands alone as a beacon of hope for sustainable human rights progress. Libya is a failed state; Egypt returned to military dictatorship; the Gulf States suppressed popular protests and tightened control; and Syria and Yemen are ravaged by civil war. Challenging the widely shared pessimism among regional experts, Micheline Ishay charts bold and realistic pathways for human rights in a region beset by political repression, economic distress, sectarian conflict, a refugee crisis, and violence against women. With due attention to how patterns of revolution and counterrevolution play out in different societies and historical contexts, Ishay reveals the progressive potential of subterranean human rights forces and offers strategies for transforming current realities in the Middle East.
Giving to God examines the everyday practices of Islamic giving in post-revolutionary Egypt. From foods prepared in Sufi soup kitchens, to meals distributed by pious volunteers in slums, to ...almsgiving, these acts are ultimately about giving to God by giving to the poor. Surprisingly, many who practice such giving say that they do not care about the poor, instead framing their actions within a unique non-compassionate ethics of giving. At first, this form of giving may appear deeply selfish, but further consideration reveals that it avoids many of the problems associated with the idea of "charity." Using the Egyptian uprising in 2011 and its call for social justice as a backdrop, this beautifully crafted ethnography suggests that "giving a man a fish" might ultimately be more revolutionary than "teaching a man to fish."
Through detailed exploration of events in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Syria and Yemen, Sean Burns here breaks down the concept of professionalism within the armed forces into its component parts ...and demonstrates how variation in military structures determines their behaviour. In so doing, and by emphasising historical context and drawing on a wide range of political science theory, Burns sheds fresh light onto the ways in which military structure affects the potential for democratic transition or the course of civil war. With this book he presented a wide-ranging study of the Middle East which provides key tools to understanding the opportunities for democratisation, both during the Arab Spring and beyond, and which is therefore essential reading for anyone working on the Middle East, popular uprisings and the politics of repression.
This book investigates the effects of the Arab Spring on Turkish foreign policy using a multidimensional approach that draws on a wide range of disciplines from international relations to sociology ...and economics. The demands for democracy that began in Tunisia, when Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in 2010, rapidly spread across the Arab Middle East and Northern Africa. In countries dominated by authoritarian regimes, a freedom and sovereignty movement led by middle-class urbanites changed the quality of politics in the region. The focus and dynamics of the Arab Spring varied across countries where large-scale demonstrations were held, such as Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Bahrain. While protests in Jordan and Bahrain had few consequences, they brought about changes in governments in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen. After the regime in Syria exerted all its strength to stay in power, the issue gained a regional, then international, dimension. The most bloody and complicated struggle caused by the wave of changes continues in Syria, with undoubtedly serious implications for Turkish foreign policy. As a counter-stance against the status quo in the Middle East, the Arab Spring has stimulated many discussions and this has led to the emergence of new regional actors.
