The Second Arab Awakening: Revolution, Democracy, and the Islamist Challenge from Tunis to Damascus - Hardcover

"The call for change that has swept across the Arab world since January 2011 is one of the most significant and historical transformations of our time. Adeed Dawisha provides a wonderful account of why and how this tumult happened and what to expect of it in the years to come. Insightful and well-written this book is one of the most thoughtful analyses of the Arab Spring." -- Vali Nasr, author of The Dispensable Nation and The Shia Revival "Adeed Dawisha has written a masterful account of the Arab awakening and its historical roots. His assessment of the prospects for democracy and the challenge from Islamists is both insightful and deeply sobering." -- Seth G. Jones, author of Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of al Qa'ida since 9/11 "Adeed Dawisha has provided both a fluent overview and a useful historical background to the Arab Spring. It will be a book that all concerned with the Middle East need to read." -- Robert D. Kaplan, author of The Revenge of Geography

When Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, in December 2010, sparking a wave of popular uprisings that would topple dictatorial regimes across North Africa and the Middle East, observers hailed the onset of a great "Arab Awakening." But this wasn't the first time people in Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere across the region had taken to the streets demanding fundamental change. An earlier generation, in the 1950s and 1960s, rose against Arab governments that were doing the bidding of colonial powers. A generation later, many of these revolutionary heroes and their inheritors had themselves become murderous tyrants, leading the people to rebel a second time. In The Second Arab Awakening, distinguished academic and writer Adeed Dawisha brings a deep historical perspective to the recent Arab uprisings, tracing the fledgling and uncertain progress so far of these revolutions and the Islamist challenge that has emerged in their wake. Elegantly written, detailed yet concise, Dawisha's illuminating exploration of the threats and opportunities facing the victorious revolutionaries provides necessary perspective on a fast-changing political landscape.