Protest, Revolt and Regime Change in the Arab World

The 2011 protests and revolts have opened up a period of political unrest across the Arab world. A good year into what has been termed the Arab Spring, this volume spotlights different dimensions of a process of dynamisation that has spread to touch all Arab countries in some way or other. Pieces on Libya, the small Gulf monarchies, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Jordan and Morocco examine the actors behind the protests, reactions by incumbent leaders and initial changes - from cosmetic reform to regime change - along with the concrete challenges faced by the respective societies, political elites and economies. Also, the geopolitical impact of these changes is analysed, in particular their effect on the Arab-Israeli conflict and on Iran’s regional role, and the repercussions of the armed struggle in Libya on its neighbours. Another chapter traces the course and development of the US policy debate about what stance to adopt. Each contribution concludes with concrete policy recommendations. In addition, opportunities for the EU to take action are sketched out for two critical policy fields: energy and migration. The volume is rounded off by ten theses summarising the impact of the Arab Spring on international politics, which extends far beyond North Africa and the Middle East.

Table of Contents

Muriel Asseburg
Introduction: A Region in Unrest
p.5-7

I.Actors

Wolfram Lacher
The Libyan Revolution: Old Elites and New Political Forces
p.11-14

Katja Niethammer
Calm and Squalls: The Small Gulf Monarchies in the Arab Spring
p.15-17

Asiem El Difraoui
No »Facebook Revolution« - But an Egyptian Youth We Know Little About
p.18-20

II.Social, Economic and Political Challenges

Ulrike Freitag
Saudi Arabia: Buying Stability?
p.23-26

Iris Glosemeyer
Yemen Without Ali Abdallah Saleh?
p.27-30

André Bank
Jordan and Morocco: Pacification through Constitutional Reform?
p.31-33

Stephan Roll
Egypt: Complex Challenges of Simultaneous Political and Economic Transformation
p.34-36

III.Geopolitical Implications