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This book argues that Internet diffusion and use in the Middle East enables meaningful micro-changes in citizens’ lives, even in states where no Arab Spring revolution occurred. Using ethnographic evidence, and conversations with Internet users in the Middle East, collected between 1996 and 2014 in Kuwait, Jordan, and Egypt, and a handful of short term research trips to other Arab states, including Tunisia (2000), Morocco (1997), UAE (1997; 2010-13), Oman (2004), Qatar (2011-2013), and Saudi Arabia (2012-13), this manuscript presents a grass roots look at how new media use fits into the practice of everyday life. It explores why citizens leverage social media to digitally route around state and other forms of power at work in their lives. As state capacity for buying public loyalty wanes throughout the Middle East, any increase in citizen civic engagement, supported by new media use, offers the possibility of a new order of things, from redefining patriarchal power relations at home, to reconfigurations of citizens’ relationships with the state, broadly defined. For reasons explored throughout this manuscript, new media channels offer pathways to empowerment widely and cheaply in the Middle East.

The story of Egyptian identity from the beginning of the 20th century is one constructed by statesmen, intellectuals and Islamic thinkers. This book argues that the current fragmentation of Egypt's political scene reflects the increasing social division in a country where 'the people' are demanding a redefinition of their national identity. Scrutinising the society behind the uprisings that began in 2011 and their diverse economic, ideological and sectorial demands, it also looks at the desperate state's attempt to construct a unified Egyptian identity an attempt which has resulted in further splitting Egyptian society. The book focuses on the societal context that caused and continue to stir the internal conflict in Egypt and offers a fresh perspective in that it zooms in on the Egyptian society and its multiple layers. It also zooms in on the role of language and education in enforcing the status quo using a number of case studies to illustrate the development of nationalist discourse in Egypt.

The aim of the book is to closely study regime responses and the principal transformations that have occurred in the MENA countries and in the region overall as a result of the Arab Spring, with the purpose of assessing whether the nature of power and power relations has changed since 2011.Thus, this book analyses comparatively the consequences of the political changes that have taken place following the Arab Spring in MENA countries, not only at national level (within political regimes), but also at regional and international level (the MENA region and western policies towards MENA countries). The monograph opts for a horizontal comparative analysis by theme: parties and political groups, elections, constitutional frameworks, power relations, governance, civil society, rights and freedoms, regional powers, security issues and foreign policies. In order to complement this comparative analysis, this book also employs a typology to study change processes undertaken in specific countries in the MENA region: democratisation, autocratisation, political liberalisation, authoritarian progression and the breakdown of state authority. Thus, political change can and often does take different directions, not all of which necessarily have to lead to regime change. Transitions may occur from authoritarianism toward democracy, but may also give rise to a reconfiguration of authoritarianism. Authoritarian rulers can undertake political reforms without democratic motivations. Thus, the broad concept of ‘political change’ is used in this monograph not only in the sense of provoking democratic developments, but also as an element in reshaping authoritarian regimes.

This book asks why some Arab Spring uprisings led to reforms and others to revolutions. The Arab Spring created attempts to transition towards democracy by the peoples of Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan. This study compares methods used by secular leaders of Tunisia and Egypt in dealing with people power demanding revolution, with those resorted to by the monarchs of Morocco and Jordan in accommodating their people’s priority of reform. In contrast with the monarchs, the secular leaders avoided resorting to the palliative of religion to ensure the stability of their rule and were, as a result, unable to survive. It shows moderate Islamist parties were elected to lead the populace out of economic deprivation and corruption; but concludes that perceived excesses of religion may also have destabilizing effects. Were the ideals of the Arab Spring realised? This study evaluates the relative success of the move to democracy in these four Middle Eastern countries. It concludes by casting doubt on the actual realization of democracy in most cases. While this volume provides a comparative perspective within the context of theoretical views by reviewing the literature on theories of revolution and reform, it goes beyond them by introducing the author’s own model of the Pendulum Model and own theory of Hierarchical Dissonance in Values. This creative theoretical approach goes beyond mere journalistic accounts of the case studies of Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan in having heuristic value regarding applicability to other uprisings in the Middle East and their possible results.