The Arab Spring is now commonly understood as a tragedy, if not a colossal failure. Those critical of American foreign policy find their criticisms confirmed, whether the object of their criticism is that of realpolik — the U. I believe these common understandings and criticisms are fundamentally mistaken, based as they are on lazy comparative analysis, not paying attention to the details of political and cultural struggles, and by ethnocentric obsessions and superpower fantasy, not realizing how much the fate of nations is based on local and not global struggles.
The uprising in the Middle East of , sparked by protests in Tunisia, opened up possibilities for fundamental transformation. The possibilities were opened by ordinary people, when they spoke to each other, in their differences, about their common concerns, and developed a capacity to act upon their concerns. In most countries in the region, one way or another, the power these people created together faced other powers and has been overwhelmed.
The report suggests a corollary to the old adage: those who live by the sword, die by the sword. The persistence of civic action in Tunisia suggests a continued opening: those who manage to speak and act in the presence of others, in their differences, with common principled commitment to their public interaction, open the possibility of an alternative to tragedy. The promise of the Arab Spring may yet live in.
Not quite, but things here at Deliberately Considered are slowing down for the summer, as I go to teach in the Democracy and Diversity Institute in Wroclaw, Poland, and then to take part in a research project on Regime and Society in Eastern Europe — in Sofia, Bulgaria. After three years of regular, often daily, publishing, posts will be less frequent until September.
At that time, we will be presenting Deliberately Considered in a new form. On Egypt: I am fascinated by the grayness of it all: the unbearable grayness of being? Rather I see mortals, tragic figures, facing huge challenges, beyond their capacity to address.
