The Future of the Arab Spring

Abstract

The Arab Spring, which began in December 2010, mobilized the Arab masses to depose once-uncontestable autocratic rulers. Many observers predicted that this regional uprising would move the Arab world from autocracy to democracy in no time. However, the present scenario speaks to the contrary. Although many are struggling to understand its long-term effects, one thing is certain: This ongoing event has engendered a significant change in the people’s sociopolitical awareness. Consequently, many writers have approached it from various social, political, economic, and religious aspects. The book under review seeks to examine and explore this subject through a unique and different aspect: the contribution of “civic entrepreneurship,” defined as an innovative, non-violent, and peaceful “citizen-driven effort to mobilize communities to respond to opportunities or crises in order to advance the collective good” (p. 2). In its seven chapters, the author emphasizes the revolution’s non-violent roots under three main sections: “Civic Entrepreneurship in Politics and Society, Civic Entrepreneurship in Art and Culture, and Civic Entrepreneurship in Technology Startups” (p. 3). The first three chapters attempt to form the theoretical foundation for her main argument ...