The Arab Uprisings: Catalysts, Dynamics, and Trajectories

This collection of essays uses the term “Arab Uprisings” as the organizing frame to address numerous socio-cultural, economic, political, experiential, and communicative aspects of the uprisings. The text is organized around three themes: origins, experiences, and trajectories. The first section addresses catalyzing factors that help explain the emergence of the uprisings from various political, economic, and socio-cultural perspectives. The second section examines the functions and responses of diverse people, institutions, and ideologies during the initial years of the uprisings. It includes an in-depth case study on women’s changing political situation in the catalyzing country of Tunisia, as well as discussions about the roles of political Islam, new mass media, and social networks in these rapidly changing contexts. The third section discusses cross-national implications and the multitude of repercussion the uprisings are having on the global system.