MER Article The Syrian Regime's Business Backbone Nearly one year into the Syrian uprising, with more than 7,500 Syrians dead, the protracted conflict is not very well understood or reported despite a deluge of writings. Most track fast-moving events without pausing for sober analysis of Syrian politics and society. Early on, the dominant argument Bassam Haddad • 6 min read
MER Article Beyond Ghannouchi On October 23, 2011, for the first time since independence in 1956, Tunisians were called to the polls in free and transparent elections. They were to choose 217 members of a Constituent Assembly that for a year would play a double role: drafting a new constitution and governing the country. Francesco Cavatorta, Rikke Hostrup Haugbølle • 15 min read
MER Article Egypt's Generals and Transnational Capital Before and after the ejection of Husni Mubarak from office, the size of the Egyptian army’s share in the economy has been a subject of great debate. The army is known to manufacture everything from olive oil and shoe polish to the voting booths used in Egypt’s 2011 Joshua Stacher, Shana Marshall • 19 min read
MER Article Horizontalism in the Egyptian Revolutionary Process A number of academics, commentators and activists have noted the presence of what one might call “horizontalism” in the Egyptian revolutionary process that started on January 25, 2011: the decentralized or networked form of organizing; the leaderless protest movements; the eschewal of top-down comma John Chalcraft • 18 min read
MER Article The Local Politics of the Lebanese Disappeared The Syrian presence in Lebanon was visible and audible to all, from the large numbers of Syrian construction workers to the peddlers selling the latest music CDs on the sidewalks to the military checkpoints in the mountains. In shared taxis there was often talk about which Lebanese politician had ju Roschanack Shaery • 9 min read
MER Article From the Editors (Spring 2012) Are the upheavals in the Arab world revolutions? Uprisings? Revolts? Perhaps all these terms are misnomers, because they imply an end point, a moment when the event will be over, its historical task finished, if not completed. It is increasingly apparent, however, that the Arab world is witnessing The Editors • 2 min read
