The Second Arab Awakening: Revolution, Democracy, and the Islamist Challenge from Tunis to Damascus
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
An eye-opening survey of the recent Arab revolutions and their political consequences, comparing them to those of a previous generation.
When Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, in December 2010, sparking a wave of popular uprisings that would topple dictatorial regimes across North Africa and the Middle East, observers hailed the onset of a great “Arab Awakening.”
But this wasn’t the first time people in Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere across the region had taken to the streets demanding fundamental change. An earlier generation, in the 1950s and 1960s, rose against Arab governments that were doing the bidding of colonial powers. A generation later, many of these revolutionary heroes and their inheritors had themselves become murderous tyrants, leading the people to rebel a second time.
In The Second Arab Awakening, distinguished academic and writer Adeed Dawisha brings a deep historical perspective to the recent Arab uprisings, tracing the fledgling and uncertain progress so far of these revolutions and the Islamist challenge that has emerged in their wake. Elegantly written, detailed yet concise, Dawisha’s illuminating exploration of the threats and opportunities facing the victorious revolutionaries provides necessary perspective on a fast-changing political landscape.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Many question whether the blossom of democracy after 2011's Arab Spring remains viable, or if indeed the new normal will prove even worse than what preceded it. In his latest, Iraqi political scientist and Middle East specialist Dawisha (Iraq: A Political History) surveys the political situation in 10 Arab countries, focusing on how recent developments in each have strengthened, or subverted, democracy, and how these changes compare to the Arab nationalist struggles of the 1950s and 60s. He sagely warns that the decline of "authoritarian rule by corrupt and inefficient regimes, built around the hegemonic presence of one man" does not imply a consequent outbreak of liberty. Dawisha bases his analysis throughout on Hannah Arendt's theory that any revolution worthy of the name must necessarily lead to freedom. While Dawisha's knowledge of the area and its politics is deep, the studies of countries presented basically recap the news. When he does offer his own opinions, he is sometimes glib, as when he characterizes the Salafists as "seem to believe that the persistent chanting of al-Islam huwal hal ("Islam is the solution") the remedy for solving all of the world's problems." Those seeking a basic overview of the last two years in the Middle East will find the book useful, but readers well versed in the situation may be disappointed.
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