The Arab Revolts: Change or Continuity?

The Making Democracy network, hosted by Research in Ethics and Globalisation (REG) at the University of Groningen and its international partners, invite the submission of abstracts for the above-mentioned panel.  This panel will be part of the Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics (CAPPE)’s conference on Riot, Revolt and Revolution at the University of Brighton.

The general theme of the conference is the relation between social, political and economic change and forms of resistance.  It investigates to what extent specific forms of resistance are necessary to inaugurate social and political change.  It particularly examines those moments of historical change when existing orders are put into question.  

This panel seeks to engage the broader theme of the conference with specific reference to the Arab revolts that have spread through the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region during 2011 and are still continuing.  These revolts – also often labeled the ‘Arab Spring’ – particularly challenged the dominant status quo as people took to the streets to demand dignity, freedom and social justice.  They also challenged the Western perception of the region as an area of exception – as an area where the only option was either a (stable?) dictatorial ruler or radical islamists.  Yet the Arab revolts have also unleashed many questions about the nature of revolt, the process of democratic and economic transition as well as prospects of change in the region, and it is those questions that this panel seeks to critically engage with through both empirical and theoretical expositions.

The conference fee is £210. This includes refreshments; lunch on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; and a buffet dinner on the Thursday evening. There are a limited number of places available for graduate students and for people who have no institutional affiliation at the reduced price of £105. Please indicate if you wish to be considered for one of these places.

Contact: [email protected].