Social movements

Topic: Social movements

Protests against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid to run for a fifth term (photo: Getty Images/AFP)

Algeria after the postponed elections

The closing window for change

For more than four months now, protesters in Algeria have been urging a clean-up of the country's politics and a new constitution. But how realistic is change given the military's iron grip on power? By Dalia GhanemMore

Civil society and democratic transition in Algeria: Algerian activists demand a place at the table Mass anti-president protests in Algeria: No more Bouteflika!Algeria′s disillusioned majority: Desperately seeking voters

"Hunger and poverty are the same thing": anti-government protests against increased bread prices in Amman (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

The Levant

Jordan's fragile stability

Jordan is considered an anchor of stability in a region shaken by crises. Yet one year on from the protests of May 2018, the country continues to face massive economic and political challenges. With youth unemployment on the rise – feeding massive social frustration – criticism of poor governance in the kingdom is growing. By Claudia MendeMore

Protests in Jordan: "The status quo has to go"Interview with Middle East expert Andre Bank: "Jordan consistently hedges its bets"Cultural shift in Jordan: A slow awakening

Sudanese protesters in Khartoum on 12 April 2019 following the overthrow of long-time dictator of Omar al-Bashir (photo: Getty Images/AFP/Ashraf Shazly)

After the ousting of Omar al-Bashir

Sudan holding out for real change

The political future of Sudan must now be hammered out from a precarious starting point. Demonstrators in Khartoum cannot instigate a new beginning without the old institutions; and the transition from toppled dictator to his former military allies will not be seamless. By Karim El-GawharyMore

Volunteer doctors and cooks help Sudanese keep up protests Sudan's interim military council fires three top public prosecutors Protests in Sudan: The yellow vests of Khartoum

Demonstrators in Algiers protesting against Bouteflika in February 2019 (photo: picture alliance/dpa/F. Baticha)

Elias Khoury on the Arab Spring 2019

The re-birth of Tahrir Square

Ask what happened to the spirit of Tahrir Square and we find the reply in the Maghreb. Today Tahrir Square is in Algeria, in Sudan, and in many other places besides. Perhaps the secret of the Arab Spring lies not in its victories or its defeats, writes Elias Khoury, but in its ability to liberate people from fearMore

Tahrir Square's democracy activists: The forgotten heroes Alaa Al Aswanyʹs novel "The Republic As If": Elias Khoury salutes Al Aswanyʹs courage

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika (photo: picture-alliance)

Algeria in transition

Time's up, Bouteflika!

He was brought in by the generals to save the regime, instead he ousted them one after the other. But Bouteflika was no democrat. He had come to rule for life and be buried as President. Now his own people appear to be de-railing those plans. By Bachir AmrouneMore

Mass anti-president protests in Algeria: No more Bouteflika!Government by consensus post-Bouteflika? Algerians riding a cyberspace wave President Bouteflika and Algeria′s future: The sick man of the Mediterranean

Hundreds of Algerians protest against a fifth term of 81-year-old President Bouteflika (photo: afp/Kramdi)

No stability without opposition

The Maghrebʹs untenable status quo

As it seeks to support "stability" in North Africa, the international community needs to think less about strong states and more about strong opposition, says Max GallienMore

Social unrest in the Arab world: Guilty of gross negligence Morocco and the return of autocracy: Playing with fire Authoritarian rule in the Arab world: Nurturing the Arabellion phoenix

Demonstrator protesting against the Mubarak regime on Tahrir Square in Cairo in 2011 (photo: AFP)

Authoritarian rule in the Arab world

Nurturing the Arabellion phoenix

The restoration of authoritarianism after the turmoil of 2010/11 lured some analysts into drawing the over-hasty conclusion that the Arab Spring had been doomed to failure from the start, because the citizens of these countries lacked political maturity and a real desire for change. A miscalculation, argues Emad Alali in his essayMore

Eight years after the Arabellion: The Egyptian opposition's seven deadly sins The Arab Spring and the "Spring of Nations": Failed revolutionaries?What triggered the Middle Eastern revolts in 2011? The economics of Arabellion

Protesters on Avenue Bourguiba in Tunis following a mass demonstration in front of the UGTT headquarters on 17.01.2019 (photo: Sofian Philip Naceur)

Social unrest in Tunisia

Taking on the IMF

As the Tunis government’s international creditors tie loans to increasingly drastic austerity measures, social tensions continue to grow in the nation’s marginalised hinterland. By Sofian Philip NaceurMore

Domestic power struggle in Tunisia: A faltering democracy Eight years after the Jasmine Revolution: Young Tunisians see red Tunisian labour union plans new strike over wages

Protests against President Beji Caid Essebsi and Tunisiaʹs government: "I love corruption" reads the placard (photo: S. Mersch/DW)

Domestic power struggle in Tunisia

A faltering democracy

The most promising democratic experiment in the Arab world can still avert political disaster, but Tunisia urgently needs outside help in view of the ongoing trench warfare within the government, writes Youssef Cherif in his essayMore

Essebsi breaks with Ennahda: Farewell to Tunisia's "national consensus"Eight years after the Jasmine Revolution: Young Tunisians see red Lessons from the unrest in Tunisia: Free in name only

Demonstrators demand the resignation of Ben Ali in front of the Ministry of the Interior in Tunis on 14 January 2011 (photo: Fethi Belaid/AFP)

Authoritarian reinstatement in the Arab world

Whatʹs left of the Arab Spring

Not much remains of the euphoric mood and the hopes that drove the Arab Spring. A return to pre-2011 conditions is however out of the question. Commentary by Loay MudhoonMore

What triggered the Middle Eastern revolts in 2011? The economics of Arabellion Interview with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkul Karman: "Bring back the Arab Spring!"Tyranny in the Islamic world: Keeping the tribe alive

The spark that caused the Arabellion: Tunisian young people protest for more social equality and the end of the Ben-Ali dictatorship in Tunis in January 2011, following the suicide of Tunisian greengrocer Mohamed Bouazizi (photo: picture-alliance/abaca)

What triggered the Middle Eastern revolts in 2011?

The economics of Arabellion

Syrian historian Nasser Rabbat argues that the Arab Spring resulted mainly from social imbalance and the misery of large sections of the population within the Arab world. Moreover, as long as economic inequality persists, these states will continue to be plagued by instabilityMore

Lessons from the unrest in Tunisia: Free in name only Tyranny in the Islamic world: Keeping the tribe alive Qantara dossier: Arab Spring

Young people protest against the government in the southern Iraqi city of Basra (photo: AP/picture-alliance)

From Basra to Baghdad

Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth living

Major rallies against the nation's political elite have been raging in Iraq for months, so far resulting in 15 deaths and 120 injuries. Birgit Svensson reports from Basra, where the protests first flared up and quickly spread through the entire southern half of the country to BaghdadMore

A new quality of civil unrest: Is Iraq steering towards post-sectarianism?Iraqʹs political future: Entering a new era The Iraq War fifteen years on: "America destroyed my country"

Education without Borders Sudan's "Cool School" campaign (source: Facebook; Education without Borders Sudan)

Civil society in Africa

Sudan′s young people roll up their sleeves

Sudan′s younger generation has already faced all manner of crises, from the conflicts and struggles of a country in the process of breaking apart, economic crises, to problems in health and education. It′s a generation that anticipates the worst and has no concept of peace. But idle? Hardly. By Abdul Salam al-HajMore

The West′s relations with Sudan: From pariah to partner One year after the division of Sudan: Old conflicts within new borders Rap music from the Sudan: Emmnuel Jal's vision of peace

Protesters take part in a march on 27 June 2018 denouncing heavy sentences against Hirak activists in Rabat, Morocco. Banner in Arabic reads "Moroccan Justice. Life sentence for the (northern region of) of Rif. A noose for the country" (photo: picture alliance/AP/M. Elshamy)

Moroccoʹs sentencing of Nasser Zefzafi

When civil liberties contract

The sentencing of a prominent opposition activist to jail long-term has shaken critics of Moroccoʹs government. Activists and analysts alike warn of ill omens for the countryʹs political trajectory. By Tom StevensonMore

Moroccoʹs treatment of Hirak El-Shaabi: Fair trial? Fat chance Morocco and the return of autocracy: Playing with fire Morocco's blighted Rif region: So little to do – so much time

Protests in front of Jordanian government headquarters in Amman on 4 June 2018 (photo: Mohammad Hamed/Reuters)

Protests in Jordan

"The status quo has to go"

Last week thousands of people filled the streets of Jordan to protest about the countryʹs ongoing economic woes and the governmentʹs lack of accountability. Among them was Jordanian journalist Lina Shannak, who now hopes the new administration will bring about tangible changeMore

Day 4 of Jordan protests as thousands rally against tax hikes Protests in Jordan: A small kingdom with big problems Syrian refugees: The burden of hospitality

Protesting against Lebanonʹs rubbish crisis in summer 2015 (photo: Goethe-Institut/Antoine Abou-Diwan)

Lebanonʹs rubbish crisis and youth protests

"If not us, then who?"

Something remarkable has begun in Beirut. Massive government mismanagement and the attendant rubbish crisis two years ago inspired and galvanised Lebanese youth to demand more of their government and to hold their leaders accountable. It all began with the closure of the Naameh landfill, which was over-capacity. Kareem Chehayeb recalls the protestsMore

Lebanon's "You Stink" protest movement: Rubbish knows no religion Recycle Beirut and Lebanon′s rubbish crisis: Green awakenings Environmental protection in Islam: Patterning nature

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