The Arab Uprisings
What Everyone Needs to Know®
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- 8,99 €
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- 8,99 €
Publisher Description
Employing an engaging question-and-answer format, The Arab Uprisings explores the revolutionary protests that have rocked the Arab world since late 2010. In this updated and revised second edition, James L. Gelvin explores the varied paths taken by the uprisings and assesses their historical and global significance. Gelvin begins with an overview-What were the conditions in the Arab world that led to the uprisings? Where did the demands for human and democratic rights and social and economic justice come from?-before turning to specific countries in the region. He examines how the long history of state-building in Tunisia and Egypt ultimately determined the paths taken by uprisings there. He explains why the weakness of state institutions in Libya and Yemen led to violence and chaos. He explores the commonalities of the "coup-proofed" states Bahrain and Syria and the tragic course of their uprisings. In the final chapter, he discusses the implications of the uprisings. What do they mean for the United States, al-Qaeda, and the balance of power in the region? What do they say about the viability of the Arab state system? What effects have they had on the Israel-Palestine conflict? What conclusions might we draw from the uprisings so far? When will we know their historical meaning?
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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gelvin, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of California at Los Angeles, has distilled a wide range of information about the revolutionary protests across the Middle East into a remarkably readable, informative, slim volume. Dedicating his work to the "tens of thousands of men, women, and children have faced death on a daily basis to end the nightmare of oppression that all too many outside observers had written off as their destiny," Gelvin (The Modern Middle East: A History) employs a question-and-answer format that follows a logical progression, from "What is the Arab world?" to "When will be able to judge the significance of the Arab uprisings?" Short chapters cover the initial protests in Tunisia and Egypt, giving a clear account of the driving forces that led to the overthrow of those governments; the "weak states" of Yemen and Libya; as well as Algeria, Syria, and the monarchies of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and others. Of particular worth is Gelvin's ability to show how the protests are interlinked, yet also independent of each other. Brief forays into the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and the current state of al-Qaeda are also illuminating. While some may tire of Gelvin's straightforward writing style, the book's orderly presentation of facts makes this an excellent primer for the general reader.
