Seasonal Strife in the Middle East: Predicting the Middle East Future from its Past

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context: TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2010

Failing to predict the Winter of Protests? When the Editor of the Middle East Journal last summer wrote this blog entry, he wasn't to know about the winter of 2011's fiery heat wave in the Middle East! "Summertime Arab Coups of the 50s, 60s and 70s: Was it the Weather? I'm working on a post for tomorrow which will note the 52nd anniversary of the overthrow of the monarchy in Iraq (the July 14 revolution), and last July 23 I reflected on Egypt's comparable moment; which raises another issue: why have so many Middle Eastern coups occurred in the summertime? Is it the heat, or what? Admittedly, coups are mostly a thing of the past in the Arab world today."....

Twitter: A Weapon of Mass Dissemination

This voice protests that the movement in Egypt is a 'peaceful' one headed by Facebook and Twitter, We unearth more and more videos 'worth a million words' that tell a story of how these social networking tools have mobilized people into demanding change. The Tunisian Revolution wouldn’t have succeeded without Tunisian people’s courage and sacrifices during their four weeks of relentless, now historical, uprising. Social media has played an undeniable role in coordinating protesters’ efforts in what Sami Ben Gharbia, co-editor of Nawaat.org and director of Global Voices Advocacy, calls a cascade of information, which eventually convinced more people –the middle class in particular– to join the movement. The role of the internet and social media in emboldening the Tunisian uprising that led to the first ever popular Arab revolution to topple an Arab dictator, was pivotal. I’m not saying it was a Twitter Revolution, I’m saying Twitter and social media were an effective weapon of mass dissemination. They were the catalyst that helped the movement reach the critical mass that swept through the country, from Sidi Bouzid all the way to the capital Tunis, and in no time. Today, Egyptians responded to calls for a march against the 30-year rule of Husni Mubarak. People took to (and are still in) the streets of Cairo and main Egyptian cities, peacefully venting their anger against three decades of corruption and repression. Most of the protesters are young and have spent all their lives under Mubarak’s police state and emergency rules. Facebook and Twitter again have been instrumental in coordinating protesters’ efforts as small groups in their hundreds congregated in the streets and public squares of Cairo and Alexandria, to gradually form huge masses of tens of thousands calling for change.

Updated: Egyptians Utilize Social Media in the Massive Anti Mubarak Demonstration: Now Live Streaming #Jan25

The live streaming of the demonstration...

All Quiet on the Lebanon Front? The Morning After

So the day of anger called by the Future Movement has ended, and the country has entered a new phase with the appointment of Mikati as prime minister.