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Abstract

This chapter addresses the emerging inward-directed threats (e.g., political, economic and social development, creating civil society, internal security and insurgencies) that have followed the 2011 Arab Spring revolutions against authoritarian regimes. The focus of security here is essentially non-state centered, emphasizing the primarily individual connotation of the term. The argument is that the fall of security services during the Arab revolutions implied the fall of regimes, as well as the fall of state authority. This was a result not only of that it was state security atrocities that triggered the popular uprising, but also of the fact that Arab authoritarian states employed the same tool — the fear of security services — for both preventing political change and maintaining social order. This chapter examines how the post-revolutions governments have tackled these issues in a way that only intensifies the ongoing turmoil.

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Notes

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© 2015 Amr Yossef and Joseph R. Cerami

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Yossef, A., Cerami, J.R. (2015). Inward-Directed Security. In: The Arab Spring and the Geopolitics of the Middle East: Emerging Security Threats and Revolutionary Change. Palgrave Pivot, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137504081_2

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