... bud. The rebellion against the rule of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, beginning in March 2011, did not emulate the uprisings in other Arab states. Until the protests in Deraa, Syria’s southwest, broke out, Bashar al-Assad had been convinced that the Arab spring’s revolutionary momentum would not spill into Syria. The regime seemed to have learned from other Arab dictators’ mistakes in seeking to eliminate any threat to its power. Assad’s ruthlessness, however, consequently put him ...
... were banned after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, when the Brothers strongly condemned “the invitation by the Gulf states” of foreign troops to change the regime in a brotherly Arab country.
A new round of controversy was related to the Arab spring. The reason was, to put it succinctly, Saudi Arabia's rejection of the very idea of combining Islam with democracy, since the latter is a movement coming from “below” and, consequently, posing a potential threat to the monarchy....
... have made considerable progress in institution-building following the fall of their respective dictatorships, political transitions in Yemen and Egypt by and large failed to translate into stable democratic governance. And two-and-a-half years into the Arab Spring, the maelstrom of unrest has once again engulfed the Middle East. Supported by the protesters, Egypt's military coup may put a new leader in charge, but without a new vision and new solutions to pressing problems, neither the Muslim ...
... Tunis or anti-Avanti Mursi‘ Cairo, a purposely dysfunctional and indecisive central government seems to have been put in place.
Policy of Timing or No Spring on a single string
Conclusively, most observers would agree that while the so-called Arab Spring had a cross-Arab impact, this was still far from a pan-Arab ripple effect: It was more of a spontaneous social revolt; a series of isolated events (related to each other more by Al-Jazeera-connecting-pots potting and fanning), rather than ...
... transformation of political systems studies affiliated with the School of world politics at Moscow State University and Doctor of Philosophy in History addressed their opening remarks to the participants. Issues of religious and national identity in the Arab spring countries, confrontation between different groups as well as opportunities for the future political, economic and cultural development of the Middle East region were among the topics discussed.
RIAC materials - analytical report "
Russia ...
Interview with Deen Freelon, Assistant Professor of Public Communication in the School of Communication at American University
Interview
The Arab Spring movements towards democratization in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya were driven by the Arab youth that was actively using social media for communications and providing their vision of the unfolding events. How significant was the role of social media?...
The Russian International Affairs Council on 13 November 2012 held a conference entitled “Russia and the ‘Arab Spring’ countries: chances for ‘soft power’ and traditional instruments of cooperation”. The event was organized within the project “The Middle East: Political Dynamics and Russia’ Interests”.
The conference ...
An expert meeting to discuss “Russia’s interests in the Greater Middle East and the obstructing factors: changes in the situation following the Arab Spring”, was held at the RIAC on 29 October 2012.
The event was organized within the project “Middle East: Political Developments and Russia’s Interests”.
The session was opened by RIAC General Director Andrei Kortunov. Director ...
A new round of conflicts between Islamism and nationalism
The Turkish society is characterized by attempts to connect Islam and nationalism to the ideology of the ruling circles and in collective consciousness, which is inconsistent with the basic concept of Islam, according to which the “national” factor does not play a defining role. However, throughout the period of the existence of the Republic of Turkey, nationalism was the foundation of the ideology of the Turkish Republic. This...
Legitimate radical regimes and the future of the Arab world
Under the current political process in countries that have experienced the Arab Spring upset, the risks posed by Islamization of the society itself and the political scene should not be underestimated. Supporters of radical Muslim parties that came to power after elections are just beginning to build their social patterns. Could ...
