• Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Middle East logoCarnegie lettermark logo
LebanonIran
{
  "authors": [
    "Marina Ottaway",
    "Michele Dunne",
    "Christopher Boucek"
  ],
  "type": "commentary",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Arab Awakening"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "North Africa",
    "Egypt",
    "Tunisia",
    "Jordan",
    "Yemen"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Democracy",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE

REQUIRED IMAGE

Commentary

Understanding the Protests in the Arab World

Massive demonstrations in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen have already toppled one government and threaten to bring down others. What can be learned from the fate of the Ben Ali and Mubarak regimes, are the protests likely to continue spreading across the region, and what options are available to U.S. policy makers?

Link Copied
By Marina Ottaway, Michele Dunne, Christopher Boucek
Published on Feb 4, 2011

Massive demonstrations in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen have already toppled one government and threaten to bring down others.

Middle East experts Marina Ottaway, Michele Dunne, and Christopher Boucek discussed the fate of the Ben Ali and Mubarak regimes, whether the protests are likely to continue spreading across the region, and what options are available to U.S. policy makers.

About the Authors

Marina Ottaway

Former Senior Associate, Middle East Program

Before joining the Endowment, Ottaway carried out research in Africa and in the Middle East for many years and taught at the University of Addis Ababa, the University of Zambia, the American University in Cairo, and the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

Michele Dunne

Former Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Program

Michele Dunne was a nonresident scholar in Carnegie’s Middle East Program, where her research focuses on political and economic change in Arab countries, particularly Egypt, as well as U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Christopher Boucek

Former Associate, Middle East Program

Boucek was an associate in the Carnegie Middle East Program where his research focused on security challenges in the Arabian Peninsula and Northern Africa.

Authors

Marina Ottaway
Former Senior Associate, Middle East Program
Marina Ottaway
Michele Dunne
Former Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Program
Michele Dunne
Christopher Boucek
Former Associate, Middle East Program
Christopher Boucek
Political ReformDemocracyForeign PolicyMiddle EastNorth AfricaEgyptTunisiaJordanYemen

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    The West’s Climate Colonialism in the Greater Middle East

    There is a disturbing structural parallel between the old global energy economy and the new green transition.

      • Angie Omar

      Angie Omar

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    World Cup 2026: A Middle East and North Africa Primer

    This will be the region’s most representative tournament, amid broad changes in its footballing landscape.

      Issam Kayssi

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Syria and Jordan by the Numbers

    Trade statistics show why Amman has more reason than Damascus to welcome the improvement in bilateral commerce.

      Armenak Tokmajyan

  • Article
    Climate Pressures in Algeria: The Crisis in Rural Kabylie

    Understanding how farmers in the Oued Sahel-Soummam Valley grapple with climate change is essential for addressing the paradoxes through which adaptation, operating at both individual and institutional levels, deepens the region’s vulnerability and erodes the social fabric and agrarian identity that once defined life.

      Ilyssa Yahmi

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Climate Worsens the Distress of Yemen’s Muhammasheen

    The community already suffers social discrimination, so addressing inequalities requires sustained interventions.

      Musaed Aklan , Mohammad Al-Saidi

Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
Carnegie Middle East logo, white
  • Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.