Commentaries on the Arab uprisings are thick on the ground, but throughout the period Jadaliyya has been (and remains) an indispensable source.  Pluto have just published their first collection, which includes first-hand accounts with an unsurpassed geographical range and sharp analysis from an unrivalled list of contributors.  In London the book will be launched at SOAS next Monday (29 October) at 7 p.m. (G50, College Buildings).

As contemporary reflections, these writings capture the unfolding of revolutionary events as they happened and convey the uncertainties, hopes and disappointments of collective worlds being remade. As the work of scholars and activists with a rich knowledge of the region’s histories and political aspirations, the essays offer lasting insights into the forces shaping a new moment in world history.

— Timothy Mitchell, Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University

During the Arab uprisings, my first port of call every day was Jadaliyya to understand and interpret the events. The articles collected here are a very rare combination – scholarly but also accessible for a broad public. This book will be a much-treasured volume for undergraduate students, and its sophistication will also benefit postgraduates and academics. More importantly, an intelligent lay reader will also find the book immediately useful.

— Laleh Khalili, Senior Lecturer in Middle East Politics, SOAS, University of London

Contents:

Jadaliyya: Archiving the Revolution – Roger Owen

Introduction – The Arab Uprisings: Unmaking of an Old Order?

Section I: Opening Articles

Impromptu: a word – Sinan Antoon

Preliminary historical observations on the Arab Revolutions of 2011- Rashid Khalidi

Awakening, cataclysm, or just a series of events?  Michael Hudson

Paradoxes of Arab Refo-lutions – Asef Bayat

The year of the citizen – Mouin Rabbani

Three powerfully wrong – and wrongly powerful – American Narratives About the Arab Spring – Jillian Schwedler, Joshua Stacher and Stacey Philbrick Yadav

Section II: Tunisia

The Tunisian Revolution:Initial Reflections – Mohammed Bamyeh

Tunisia’s Glorious Revolution – Noureddine Jebnoun

Let’s not forget about Tunisia – Nouri Gana

The Battle for Tunisia – Nouri Gana

Section III: Egypt

The Poetry of Revolt – Elliott Colla

Why Mubarak is out – Paul Amar

Egypt’s Revolution 2.0: The Facebook Factor – Linda Herrera

Egypt’s Three Revolutions – Omnia El Shakry

The architects of the Egyptian uprising – Saba Mahmood

The revolution against neoliberalism – Walter Armbrust

Egypt’s orderly transition: International Aid and the rush to structural adjustment – Adam Hanieh

Section IV: Libya

The Arabs in Africa – Callie Maidhof

Tribes of Libya as the third front  – Jamila Benkato

Solidarity and intervention in Libya – Asli Ü Bali and Ziad Abu-Rish

Section V: Bahrain

Let’s Talk About Sect – Tahiyya Lulu

Distortions of dialogue – Tahiyya Lulu

When petro-dictators unite – Rosie Bsheer and Ziad Abu-Rish

Section VI: Yemen

Yemen’s turn – an overview – Lara Aryani

How it Started in Yemen: From Tahrir to Taghyir – Nir Rosen

Saleh Defiant – Ziad Abu-Rish

Section VII: Syria

Why Syria Is Not Next . . . So Far – Bassam Haddad

Fear of arrest – Hani Sayed

Syrian Hope: A Journal – Amal Hanano

Section VIII: Regional Reverberations of the Arab Uprisings

The political status quo and protests in Jordan – Ziad Abu-Rish

Dissent and its discontents: protesting the Saudi state – Rosie Bsheer

The never-ending story: protests and constitutions in Morocco – Emanuela Dalmasso and Francesco Cavatorta

Emergencies and economics: Algeria and the politics of memory – Muriam Haleh Davis

Iraq and Its Tahrir Square – Zainab Saleh

Tahrir’s other sky – Noura Erikat and Sherene Seikaly

What is [the] Left? – Maya Mikdashi

Epilogue: Parting Thoughts Madawi Al- Rasheed