Social movements

Topic: Social movements

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Democracy in the Maghreb

Tebboune's 'New Algeria' looks a lot like the old Algeria

Algeria's recent referendum was a thinly veiled attempt to hijack the agenda of the country's popular Hirak protest movement. Yet the people are no longer willing to accept ageing leaders who rely on a veneer of democracy to maintain their rule. Legitimacy will only be achieved by genuine structural reforms. By Dalia GhanemMore

COVID-19 consequences: Coronavirus halts year-long protests in Algeria First anniversary of the Hirak movement: The jury's still out on Algeria Arab Spring 2.0: The Middle East's fearless protesters

People gathered on the Charles Helou highway, opposite the site of the Beirut port explosion, in tribute to victims of the disaster and to denounce the political elite they blame (photo: picture-alliance/PhotoShot/E. Fitt)

Lebanese protesters call for systemic change

What now for Beirut, once the Paris of the Middle East?

The destruction of the port of Beirut – and Lebanon's free-falling economy – has fuelled calls to end the country's sectarian political system, which allocates power among Christians, Shia, and Sunni Muslims according to a rigid formula. But might such a change merely deepen suspicion among an already deeply divided population? by John AndrewsMore

Aftermath of the Beirut explosion: Lebanon, a state in freefall thanks to corrupt governance Lebanese author Elias Khoury in interview: Beirut's ruling class – "The stupidest mafia there is"Aftermath of the Beirut explosion: "Revolution is born out of suffering"

Symbolic image of rays of sunshine bursting through a blanket of cloud (photo: picture-alliance/Hinrich Basemann)

COVID-19 on the Nile

Egyptians create their own silver lining to coronavirus

Given the numerous civil society initiatives that have emerged during coronavirus, Egyptian writer and journalist Khaled al-Khamissi finds his faith in his fellow Egyptians restored – there is hope for the country after allMore

COVID-19 on the Nile: How coronavirus snuffed out my bookseller's life COVID-19 on the Nile: Where is the justice in corona-plagued Egypt?COVID-19 in Egypt: Safely through corona crisis? Go on, take my used mask

A man flying a kite in Cairo (photo: dpa)

COVID-19 on the Nile

Where is the justice in corona-plagued Egypt?

An actor falls ill and receives preferential treatment; a well-known contract killer is pardoned: the corona pandemic draws back the veil on social inequality in Egypt. By Khaled el-KhamissiMore

COVID-19 in Egypt: Safely through corona crisis? Go on, take my used mask COVID-19 on the Nile: One Egyptian's dream of a brave, new, post-coronavirus world COVID-19 on the Nile: The curse of coronavirus – Egypt, a nation gripped by fear

Anti-government protests and attacks on banks in the Lebanese capital Beirut (photo: Getty Images/AFP/M. Tahtah)

Social unrest in Lebanon

Beirut – currency chaos, exploding prices and burning banks

In Lebanon, the local currency has slumped to a record low, people are losing their jobs and the price of food is skyrocketing. Despite the threat posed by the coronavirus, hundreds are taking to the streets in protest. Julia Neumann reports from BeirutMore

Beirut on the brink: Regardless of corona, Lebanon is at economic breaking point A toxic combination of sectarianism and rentierism: Lebanon's perfect storm Social inequality in the Arab world: There is no state in Lebanon

An anti-government protester shouts slogans in front of the riot police during a protest against the deepening financial crisis in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 April 2020 (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Malla)

Beirut on the brink

Regardless of corona, Lebanon is at economic breaking point

Lebanon's economy is imploding and with it social stability. While the country’s politicians understand the depth of the crisis, they have used the coronavirus lockdown, argues Maha Yahya, as an chance to settle old scores and – following months of popular rejection – stage a comebackMore

A toxic combination of sectarianism and rentierism: Lebanon's perfect storm Interview with Lebanese director Rabih Mroué: "First, they all have to go. And all means all"Middle East: Lebanon's protesters are here to stay Interview with Lebanese activist Nizar Hassan: Beirut's ruling elite may be down, but they are not yet out

For Syria, against the regime: anti-Asssad demonstrators in Hazzanu, close to Idlib, September 2018 (photo: Getty Images/AFP/A. Watad)

Humanism as a universal and humane concept

From Syria to Germany – the unifying struggle for democracy

Repression and despotism takes many forms. Yet as varied as these phenomena are, they all share a common core, argues Tarek Azizeh. Revolutions accompanying the struggle for democracy – wherever they occur – are all different manifestations of one and the same fightMore

Violence in the Arab world: Born of a barbaric state Fighting for democracy and a free Syria: "Ideas cannot be killed with weapons" – remembering Raed Fares The decline of humanism in the Arab world: With an iron fist Assad & Baʹath party rule: About Syria, which is no more

Mass demonstration in Algiers against the country's ruling elite (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

COVID-19 consequences

Coronavirus halts year-long protests in Algeria

Exploiting the coronavirus emergency, Algeria’s ruling classes have ramped up their repressive campaign against the protest movement, opposition and free media. By Sofian Philip NaceurMore

First anniversary of the Hirak movement: The jury's still out on Algeria Arab Spring 2.0: The Middle East's fearless protesters Unpopular presidential elections: Algeria stands at a historic crossroads

Armed service personnel patrol the streets of Baghdad, ensuring people adhere to the curfew issued by the Iraqi government (photo: dpa)

COVID-19 in Iraq

Working under the coronavirus curfew in Baghdad

Coronavirus is also spreading in Iraq. This didn't stop hundreds of thousands of pilgrims travelling to a Shia shrine, however. The nation's health system has already conceded it cannot cope with the epidemic. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

COVID-19 epidemic in Iran: Faith and the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic: The world’s religions and coronavirus Fighting shy of coronavirus

Women's rights activists protesting in downtown Beirut (photo: Julia Neumann)

Female protesters in Lebanon

Solidarity is the solution!

Women have been the driving force behind the popular protests in Lebanon for months. They are fighting for the rights of everyone – women, minorities, refugees or migrants. Julia Neumann reports from BeirutMore

Middle East: Lebanon's protesters are here to stay Women's rights in Lebanon: Campaign exposes "victim-blaming" attitudes to rape Domestic violence against women in Lebanon: Protection, yes, but not enough

Protesting the arrest of journalists in Cairo (photo: picture-alliance/Zuma Press)

Press freedom under attack

The Arab world's new wave of media repression

Since the 2011 uprisings, authoritarian rulers in the Arab world have worked out how to manipulate and instrumentalise the media to their own ends, nipping any new democratic quake in the bud. By Lydia KhalilMore

Protests in the Middle East: No tyranny without Egypt Unrest in the Arab world: The genie is out of the bottle The icon of Tahrir Square in Baghdad and Cairo: Arab Spring and October Revolution

Women providing medical assistance on Baghdad's Tahrir Square (photo: niqash.org)

Iraq's revolutionary women

The female paramedics of Tahrir Square

During the protests against the central government in Baghdad, Iraqi women have been volunteering as nurses and learning first aid. They are also changing the status quo and promoting the rights of women in the country. By Azhar Ali HusseinMore

The icon of Tahrir Square in Baghdad and Cairo: Arab Spring and October Revolution Elias Khoury on the Arab Spring 2019: The re-birth of Tahrir Square Tahrir Square's democracy activists: The forgotten heroes

Director Karim Ainouz with the film's female protagonist Nardjes Asli (source: Berlinale 2020)

International Women’s Day

Ainouz' "Nardjes A." – hope as a form of resistance

Focussing on the Algerian protest movement, "Nardjes A." by Karim Ainouz, is about the universal power of hope to change the social and political status quo in the Maghreb country. By Rene WildangelMore

Berlinale 2018: ″Central Airport THF″ by Karim Ainouz: Lives lived in waiting First anniversary of the Hirak movement: The jury's still out on Algeria Arab Spring 2.0: The Middle East's fearless protesters

A man casts his vote during parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tehran on 21 February 2020 (photo: Reuters/WANA/I. Tabatabaee)

Elections in the Islamic republic

Strong vote for a strong Iran?

In the run-up to Iran’s parliamentary elections on 21 February, state media was at full blast. Urging Iranians to take to the polls, state TV’s Channel 1 ran an election-day countdown, showing images of past elections and enthusiastic voters, regularly interrupted by music appealing to Iranians' sense of patriotism and nationalism. By Ali Fathollah-NejadMore

Interview with Nader Hashemi on the protests in Iran: Violence "reflects the Iranian regime's desperation"The mirage of regime change: Why the United States is Khamenei’s bogeyman The longest duel: Iran and the USA square off

Protest in Algiers on 12 December 2019 (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

First anniversary of the Hirak movement

The jury's still out on Algeria

Few would have thought that Algeria's Hirak protest movement would still be mobilising the masses 12 months on from its first peaceful demonstration. According to Isabelle Werenfels and Luca Miehe, the systemic change people hoped for post-Bouteflika has yet to materialise. External players need to brace themselves for ongoing political turbulenceMore

Demonstrators on Tahrir Square in Cairo (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

The icon of Tahrir Square in Baghdad and Cairo

Arab Spring and October Revolution

The past enthusiasm of the Egyptians lives on in the Iraqis of today. But just as they were nine years ago in Cairo, current prospects in Baghdad are dim. A comparison by Birgit SvenssonMore

Tahrir Square's democracy activists: The forgotten heroes Elias Khoury on the Arab Spring 2019: The re-birth of Tahrir Square Mass protests in Sudan, Algeria, Lebanon and Iraq: Is this the Arab Spring 2.0?

Topic: Social movements

Pages

In brief

Most Recent Photo Essay