The Arab Spring and Palestine

{
  "authors": [
    "Michele Dunne"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "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",
    "Israel",
    "North Africa",
    "Egypt",
    "Palestine"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Security"
  ]
}

In The Media

The Arab Spring and Palestine

The Arab Spring has initiated a wave of change that will affect every aspect of society in the Middle East, including the Israel-Palestinian conflict and Egypt's influence in the Middle East and North Africa.

By Michele Dunne

Published on May 18, 2011

Source: Charlie Rose Show

The Arab Spring has initiated a wave of change that will affect every aspect of life in the region, including the Israel-Palestinian conflict. “The Arab Spring is about people standing up against conditions they long were forced to accept,” Michele Dunne said on the Charlie Rose Show. The initial reaction of Palestinians to the Arab Spring was reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. The past few weeks have also seen peaceful demonstrations in Gaza and the West Bank. However, the recent peaceful demonstrations on the borders of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt represent a potentially new situation that scares Israel, Dunne said.

In regards to Egypt, Dunne suggested that “the Egyptian government is going to be more responsive to public opinion than it was during Mubarak’s reign.” This means that Egypt will begin to take on independent initiatives, as it did in facilitating reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, without necessarily consulting with the United States.

About the Author

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.

Recent Work

Research
Islamic Institutions in Arab States: Mapping the Dynamics of Control, Co-option, and Contention
- +6
  Yasmine Farouk, Nathan J. Brown, Maysaa Shuja Al-Deen, …
Research
From Hardware to Holism: Rebalancing America’s Security Engagement With Arab States
- +8
  Robert Springborg, Emile Hokayem, Becca Wasser, …

Political Reform Security Middle East Israel North Africa Egypt Palestine

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 Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

Commentary
Carnegie Politika
Russia Is Approaching a Political Crossroads
Two divergent trends—Putin’s hardline vision of how to prosecute the war in Ukraine, and a growing desire for change in Russia—could tear the regime apart.
Tatiana Stanovaya
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
Control Above Reform: What’s Behind Ukraine’s Government and Security Reshuffle?
Ultimately, Zelensky sided neither with the reform camp nor with the military establishment as such, but with political control.
Balázs Jarábik
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
Where Are President Tokayev’s Political Reforms Leading Kazakhstan?
Tokayev’s predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, outlined arrangements for a power transition too soon and in too much detail, ultimately losing control over the process. Tokayev is determined not to meet the same fate.
Temur Umarov
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
What Should We Take From Andrey Melnichenko’s Essay in the Economist?
Andrey Melnichenko’s essay offers no answer to the fundamental question of how, under any kind of negotiated settlement, Europe can protect itself from the Russian ressentiment that is inevitable in all scenarios except for an outright victory for Putin.
Leonid Bershidsky
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
Parliamentary Elections in Occupied Ukraine Risk Backfiring for the Kremlin
Despite unhappiness on the ground, Moscow is determined to use both carrot and stick to ensure there is record support for United Russia in occupied Ukraine.
Konstantin Skorkin

More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

Russia Is Approaching a Political Crossroads

Two divergent trends—Putin’s hardline vision of how to prosecute the war in Ukraine, and a growing desire for change in Russia—could tear the regime apart.

Tatiana Stanovaya

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

Control Above Reform: What’s Behind Ukraine’s Government and Security Reshuffle?

Ultimately, Zelensky sided neither with the reform camp nor with the military establishment as such, but with political control.

Balázs Jarábik

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

Where Are President Tokayev’s Political Reforms Leading Kazakhstan?

Tokayev’s predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, outlined arrangements for a power transition too soon and in too much detail, ultimately losing control over the process. Tokayev is determined not to meet the same fate.

Temur Umarov

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

What Should We Take From Andrey Melnichenko’s Essay in the Economist?

Andrey Melnichenko’s essay offers no answer to the fundamental question of how, under any kind of negotiated settlement, Europe can protect itself from the Russian ressentiment that is inevitable in all scenarios except for an outright victory for Putin.

Leonid Bershidsky

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

Parliamentary Elections in Occupied Ukraine Risk Backfiring for the Kremlin

Despite unhappiness on the ground, Moscow is determined to use both carrot and stick to ensure there is record support for United Russia in occupied Ukraine.

Konstantin Skorkin