Reading the Arab Revolutions: Authoritarianism and the Implications of Change

Abstract

This paper presents a reading of the Arab Revolutions, through research and books published by the ACRPS. In particular, it reflects on the events in Syria, in all their complexity, while remaining well aware of the constraints entailed in analyzing an event still ongoing in the present day. The discussion will focus on three books: Azmi Bishara's Syria's Via Dolorosa to Freedom: An Attempt at Contemporary History, Mohammed Jamal Barout's work The Last Decade in the History of Syria, and Hamza Mustafa's The Virtual Public Sphere in the Syrian Revolution. In addition it will address an edited volume entitled Backgrounds to the Revolution.