The People Want : A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising

'The people want' – thus began the slogans chanted by millions of protesters in 2011 in what was dubbed the 'Arab Spring'. While the protests revealed a long-suppressed craving for democracy, they also laid bare a deep structural crisis. In this landmark work, Middle East analyst Gilbert Achcar examines the socio-economic roots and political dynamics of the regional upheaval. He assesses the peculiarities of the region's states and regimes, and sheds light on the movements that use Islam as a political banner. Achcar argues that the Arab Spring was but the beginning of a long-term revolutionary process – a perspective confirmed by a second wave of uprisings in 2019 – and outlines the requirements for a solution to the crisis. This new edition features a preface drawing a balance sheet of the upheaval's first decade. 'A detailed and searching account of the Arab Spring'— Malise Ruthven, New York Review of Books 'The most careful, insightful, and erudite study to date of the Arab uprising.' —Kevin Anderson (University of California, Santa Barbara), Marx and Philosophy Review of Books 'A detailed and searching account of the Arab Spring'—'Achcar's precise and illuminating analyses contrast with the usual discourses on the Arab Spring.'— Henry Laurens (Collège de France), L'Orient Littéraire 'A thoughtful and acute analysis ... Jargon-free, clear, and a model of marrying theory to empirical material.'— Laleh Khalili (Queen Mary, University of London), Middle East in London '[This book] extends an invitation to the reader to leave a hall of mirrors that often guides explanations of the uprisings ... historical events and conceptual constructs start to take a completely different shape.'— Maha Abdelrahman (University of Cambridge), Jadaliyya The People Want.: This First Half Of Slogans Chanted By Millions Of Arab Protesters Since 2011 Revealed A Long-repressed Craving For Democracy. But Huge Social And Economic Problems Were Also Laid Bare By The Protestors' Demands. Simplistic Interpretations Of The Uprising That Has Been Shaking The Arab World Since A Young Street Vendor Set Himself On Fire In Central Tunisia, On 17 December 2010, Seek To Portray It As Purely Political, Or Explain It By Culture, Age, Religion, If Not Conspiracy Theories. Instead, Gilbert Achcar Locates The Deep Roots Of The Upheaval In The Specific Economic Features That Hamper The Region's Development And Lead To Dramatic Social Consequences, Including Massive Youth Unemployment. Intertwined With Despotism, Nepotism, And Corruption, These Features, Produced An Explosive Situation That Was Aggravated By Post-9/11 U.s. Policies.^ The Sponsoring Of The Muslim Brotherhood By The Emirate Of Qatar And Its Influential Satellite Channel, Al Jazeera, Contributed To Shaping The Prelude To The Uprising. But The Explosion's Deep Roots, Asserts Achcar, Mean That What Happened Until Now Is But The Beginning Of A Revolutionary Process Likely To Extend For Many More Years To Come. The Author Identifies The Actors And Dynamics Of The Revolutionary Process: The Role Of Various Social And Political Movements, The Emergence Of Young Actors Making Intensive Use Of New Information And Communication Technologies, And The Nature Of Power Elites And Existing State Apparatuses That Determine Different Conditions For Regime Overthrow In Each Case. Drawing A Balance-sheet Of The Uprising In The Countries That Have Been Most Affected By It Until Now, I.e. Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya And Syria, Achcar Sheds Special Light On The Nature And Role Of The Movements That Use Islam As A Political Banner.^ He Scrutinizes Attempts At Co-opting The Uprising By These Movements And By The Oil Monarchies That Sponsor Them, As Well As By The Protector Of These Same Monarchies: The U.s. Government. Underlining The Limitations Of The Islamic Tsunami That Some Have Used As A Pretext To Denigrate The Whole Uprising, Gilbert Achcar Points To The Requirements For A Lasting Solution To The Social Crisis And The Contours Of A Progressive Political Alternative. -- Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Fettered Development -- The Facts -- Poverty, Inequality, Precarity -- Informal Sector And Unemployment: The Bouazizi Syndrome -- Youth Underemployment -- Female Underemployment -- Graduate Unemployment -- Fetters On Development -- 2. The Peculiar Modalities Of Capitalism In The Arab Region -- The Problem Of Investment -- Public And Private Investment -- A Specific Variant Of The Capitalist Mode Of Production -- 1. Rentier And Patrimonial States -- 2.a Politically Determined Capitalism: Nepotism And Risk -- The Genesis Of The Specific Regional Variant Of Capitalism: An Overview -- 3. Regional Political Factors -- The Oil Curse -- From Arab Despotic Exception To Democracy Promotion -- The Muslim Brothers, Washington And The Saudis -- The Muslim Brothers, Washington And Qatar -- Al Jazeera And The Upheaval In The Arab Mediascape -- 4. Actors And Parameters Of The Revolution -- Overdetermination And Subjective Conditions. Contents Note Continued: The Workers' Movement And Social Struggles -- New Actors And New Information And Communication Technologies -- States And Revolutions -- 5.a Provisional Balance Sheet Of The Arab Uprising -- Coups D'etat And Revolutions -- Provisional Balance Sheet No. 1: Tunisia -- Provisional Balance Sheet No. 2: Egypt -- Provisional Balance Sheet No. 3: Yemen -- Provisional Balance Sheet No. 4: Bahrain -- Provisional Balance Sheet No. 5: Libya -- Provisional Balance Sheet No. 6: Syria -- 6. Co-opting The Uprising -- Washington And The Muslim Brothers, Take Two -- Nato, Libya, And Syria -- The Islamic Tsunami And The Difference Between Khomeini And Morsi -- Conclusion: The Future Of The Arab Uprising -- The Difference Between Erdogan And Ghannouchi ... -- ... And The Difference Between Erdogan And Morsi -- Conditions For A Genuine Solution. Gilbert Achcar ; Translated From The French By G.m. Goshgarian.