Introduction
The uprisings that swept across the Middle East and North African (MENA) region throughout 2010–2011 were optimistically perceived as a signal that the repressive authoritarian rule that had characterized much of the region was coming to an end. Protesters took to the streets in unprecedented numbers first in Tunisia, then in Egypt, and eventually spread throughout much of the region, all determined to have their voices heard on a range of political and economic grievances that they had long endured.
Initially the protest movements appeared to fulfill the promise of change. Long-reigning dictatorships in Tunisia and Egypt were swiftly brought to an end, and assistance from the international community suggested that Libya too would shortly see the demise of its authoritarian leader. However, this initial positive trajectory soon took a turn. Violent crackdowns by regime forces in Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, and Syria saw many killed by open fire against demonstrators, while...
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Further Reading
Brownlee, J., Masoud, T., Reynolds, A.. (2015). The Arab Spring: Pathways of repression and reform. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Danahar, P. (2013). The new middle east: The world after the Arab Spring. London: Bloomsbury.
Davis, J. (2013). The Arab Spring and the Arab Thaw: Unfinished revolutions and the quest for democracy. Surrey: Ashgate.
Seikaly, M., & Mattar, K. (Eds.). (2015). The silent revolution: The Arab Spring and the Gulf States. Berlin: Gerlach Press.
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Kruber, S. (2019). Arab Spring. In: Romaniuk, S., Thapa, M., Marton, P. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Security Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74336-3_1-1
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