The Arab Spring has changed the political dynamics in the Middle East and North Africa, but many challenges remain to be addressed. The full effect of the popular demonstrations across the region will be measured in decades, not months or years.
Although President Hugo Chavez has returned from his stay in Cuba, Venezuelans are beginning to consider what the country might look like without having Chavez at the center of the national life.
The Arab Spring has more in common with events in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s than Central and Eastern Europe in 1989. The impact of events in the Middle East for states outside the region will depend on the legitimacy and adaptability of their regimes.
The protests by several Saudi Arabian women against the ban on female drivers could help usher in a number of social reforms in the kingdom.
In a negotiated settlement to the political crisis and power struggle occurring in Yemen, the youth protesters who first took to the streets are likely to be cut out of any final deal, which will be made by the political elites.
As international attention remains focused on the protests calling for the removal of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the country’s manifold economic problems threaten Yemen and the region.
While the political crisis in Yemen is important, the failure of the country's economy could be catastrophic, with potentially serious consequences on a regional and global scale.
The Arab Spring is causing tension in the close relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. There is a growing sense in Riyadh that Saudi and U.S. national security interests may be increasingly divergent.
Rather than continuing with the reform rhetoric heard in many Arab countries, rulers who wish to remain in power must engage in serious, measurable, and inclusive efforts at real reform.
A fundamental transformation has occurred in the Middle East and North Africa, in spite of the violent repression that has confronted protesters in Libya, Syria, Bahrain, and Yemen.