Commentary
Middle Eastern states should welcome an accelerated U.S. disengagement from their region.
Michael Young
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Source: Getty
The Transformation of Arab Activism: New Contexts, Domestic Institutions, and Regional Rivalries
The three years since 2011 have witnessed enormous changes in activism across the Arab world, but the full story of the Arab Spring has yet to be written.
Published on May 15, 2014
Source: Project on Middle East Democracy
The three years since 2011 have witnessed enormous changes in activism across the Arab world. Heady days of demonstrations have given way to frustration, as activists from Morocco to Yemen struggle to define a way forward in complex, difficult, and often violent contexts. Khatib and Lust’s new book, Taking to the Streets: The Transformation of Arab Activism explores many of the challenges that activists face today. Their analysis aims not only to provide a better understanding of past events, but also to help establish expectations that better prepare activists, policymakers, and observers to anticipate and engage in the future.
From a series of country-specific cases, this policy brief analyzes three trends: the role of institutional structures and regime type in shaping activist behavior, changing contexts and new modes of activism, and the heightened influence of regional actors.Policy Recommendations
- Despite greater polarization and hostility towards reform among the region’s most influential actors, the U.S. must help preserve spaces for activism wherever they exist.
- The U.S. must be willing to seriously engage and meaningfully support a broad spectrum of activists interested or involved in advocacy activities.
- The U.S. must strengthen its capacity to support activists in need of immediate, urgent assistance.
This policy brief was originally published by Project on Middle East Democracy.
About the Authors
Lina Khatib
Former Director, Middle East Center
Khatib was director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Previously, she was the co-founding head of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.
Ellen Lust
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.
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