Current Analysis

Jerusalem Youth at the Forefront of 2021’s Unity Intifada

The Palestinian uprising of April, May and June 2021—known as the Unity Intifada—is part of a long tradition of revolutionary political activity in which Palestinians from Jerusalem have often played a role. Akram Salhab and Dahoud al-Ghoul report from the city about the reasons youth feel compelled

Akram Salhab, Dahoud al-Ghoul • 11 min read

Current Analysis

The Prince’s Speech and Activist Grievances in Jordan

On April 3, 2021, Prince Hamzeh bin Hussein of Jordan was confined by the Jordanian armed forces to his home and cut off from outside communication. While many observers speculate about palace politics, Matthew Lacouture delves into the significance of the prince's statements decrying corruption and

Matthew Lacouture • 11 min read

MER Article

The Invisible Alienation of Tunisian Youth

The mood in Tunisia was tense after Ramadan, a month after 38 tourists were killed in the beach resort of Sousse at the end of June. Key buildings on the capital’s main boulevard, Habib Bourguiba Avenue, including the Ministry of Interior, were surrounded with barbed wire and conspicuous police prot

Benoît Challand • 5 min read

Current Analysis

Youth in Turkey’s 2015 Elections

On June 7, Turkish citizens went to the polls [http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/election/default.htmlhttp://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/election/default.html] to elect the 550 members of the Grand National Assembly. Although the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) won 41 percent of the vote, it

Aydin Özipek • 3 min read

MER Article

The Politics of Iran's Satellite Era

“Once,” the Iranian comedian Mehran Modiri notes, “our marital relationships were formed over long distances. An Iranian man would explore the world abroad with his father’s money. When the money ran out, he would suddenly miss home-cooked qormeh sabzi and ask his family to send him a pure Iranian b

(Author not identified) • 16 min read

MER Article

Potholes in the Road to Revolution

Nearly four years later, the dusty road between Sidi Bouzid’s main thoroughfare and the humble residential quarter where Mohamed Bouazizi grew up is still blemished with the same potholes. He was not known in his hometown by that name. Though international media outlets immortalized this moniker aft

Michael Marcusa • 7 min read

MER Article

Taking Back the Village

On January 25, 2011, like most of the rest of the world I watched the uprisings in Egypt on television. I was struck by the consistent vantage point: a reporter speaking from a balcony or rooftop overlooking the masses in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. There was an occasional interview with a memb

Lila Abu-Lughod • 14 min read

Current Analysis

Educational Aftershocks for Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

More than 50 percent of Syrian refugees living in Lebanon [https://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=122] are 17 or younger. Back home the great majority of them were in school. But youth who try to continue their education in Lebanon face social, economic and bureaucratic obstacles. The

Sarah Parkinson • 5 min read

Current Analysis

Youth of the Gulf, Youth of Palestine

I recently came across two accounts of Arab youth that fly in the face of conventional wisdom. One is Kristin Diwan’s issue brief on youth activism [http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/images/publications/Breaking_Taboos.pdf] in the Arab Gulf states for the Atlantic Council, and the other is a documentar

Ted Swedenburg • 6 min read

Current Analysis

Three Updates on Palestinian Political Prisoners

Update 1 on prisoners and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from the halls of the State Department: Last week, the United States considered releasing Jonathan Pollard, an American convicted of espionage on behalf of Israel, in exchange for Israel doing, as political analyst Yousef Munayyer put it, “

Amahl Bishara • 4 min read

MER Article

Generation Y in Gezi Park

Generation Y has figured large in the global pattern of protest beginning at the tail end of the 2000s. In marches against the fraudulent presidential election in Iran, against austerity in southern Europe, against autocracy in places from Morocco to Bahrain, and against greed and corruption in the

Marcie J Patton • 16 min read

Featured

Between Grievances and State Violence

On June 16, 2012, female students at the University of Khartoum mounted a demonstration that released a wave of protest on campuses and major towns across Sudan. The young women exited the university gates chanting “Freedom, freedom,” demanding the “liberation” of their campus from the grip of the N

Khalid Mustafa Medani • 20 min read