If like me you have had found the events of recent weeks in the Middle East and North Africa enthralling but confusing then you might find the following Foreign Policy essay from David Bell helpful.
- Professor David Bell
David Bell is a Professor of History at Princeton University. His particular area of research is the French Revolution. Sometimes taking a long-term historical view can help to provide the analytical resources and tools to better understand current events.
I don’t necessarily agree with everything in the essay, but I found his typology of revolution helpful. It is certainly worth a read.
In case you don’t have time, his main point is that revolutions fall into two basic categories: those that look more like the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and those that follow the bloody and protracted model of 1789. Understanding the unique characteristics of both models might help when trying to make sense of the current revolutionary wave sweeping through the Middle East and North Africa.
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I found David Bell’s article thoughtful and helpful. I have just finished writing one or two articles on the background to the Middle East protests and believe that as with Iran and Iraq getting rid of one problem may cause short term rejoicing but as long as the underlying problems remain, the immediate future may be very bleak indeed.
The Muslim brotherhood, Sunni and Shia, China as a competitor for oil, corrupt officials, a compromised army leadership, government control of media,foreign competition for key jobs, unpopular minorities, a dislike of the US, foreign mercenaries, mad bad dictators, Unpopular Israel etc etc… and they say in Egpypt “Mission accomplished” Where did I hear that before?
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Thanks for this really helpful comment. I’m already concerned by the way that Egypt has fallen of the radar as if by getting rid of Mubarak, Egypt’s problems have somehow been resolved. Admittedly the situation in Libya is all enthralling but the next six months in Tunisia and Egypt – electoral and constitutional reform – will tell us a lot about the changing face of the Middle East and North Africa.