Arab Revolutions: Places, Spaces and Movements
Plan
Haut de pageThe Kasbah square in Tunis or the Tahrir Square in Cairo, the Waterfront in Benghazi or the Pearl Square in Manama, among others, are places that so far became symbols of the recent Arab democratic protests. They have been and continue to be strategic locations in the popular uprisings that have been agitating this region since the end of 2010. Their conquest, occupation and in a word their coming into control punctuate these revolutions. The same holds for other cities in protest. SidiBouzid and Kasserine in Tunisia, Benghazi and Misurata in Libya, Sanaa in Yemen or Deraa and Hama in Syria, to name only these, illustrate the fortunes experienced by popular mobilization in the Arab countries. These revolutions have catapulted such places from which activists have emerged, out of neighborhood solidarities whether at the level of the tribe, the village, the city or the region. A number of actors, such as political parties and unions associations, are evolving within these social spaces and relying on, for example, social networks, the Internet or else older Diasporas.
This special issue attempts to understand the nature of these movements and analyze the spatial evolution of the main actors in order to decipher the social and political change the Arab world is undergoing as well as its regional and global consequences. Without being exclusive, we offer three main axes of research:
Understanding the "Arab Spring"
Inextricably linked to a consideration of the actors of these revolutions and the nature of these movements (Revolts? Revolutions? Democratic (Re) awakening?), the main aim of this issue is to focus on the places and spaces where these revolutions took place. Thus we will hopefully bypass the convened and even sterile division between the proponents of the web 2.0 revolution and those advancing less virtual accounts. These places will rather be examined for their symbolic dimension as producers of meaning on the road towards democracy. It is also aimed to analyze the political and social reshuffling initiated by these revolutions. Arab societies are now entering a transition phase, characterized by both the hope in and the fear from an uncertain future.
Spatial logics of Arab revolutions
The Arab revolutions operated according to different spatial and socio-spatial logics depending on the different states. For example, the revolutionary wave started from the rural periphery in Tunisia but rather from urban and middle class in Egypt. These protests were organized around symbolic gathering places but have also developed in the dead-angles of the countries concerned. It is this logic at work that the articles in this issue attempt to apprehend.
“Arab Spring”: what are the new regional and international geopolitical reconfigurations?
The impact of these revolutions on migration spaces across the Arab world, the reconfiguration of the balance of power between the states in the region, the Arab political redefinition of the main partners of these countries (U.S., EU, China, Russia, etc..) and the unknown Islamist factor are major concerns in terms of international relations.
It would be very interesting to analyze the potential spatial consequences of the democratic transition period. Namely, the transition from authoritarian regimes to freshly elected governments could arguably affect the national territorial and administrative organization (strengthened decentralization, new territorial cooperation, liberalization of public services and town and country planning, etc). In other words, it would be interesting to explore the socio-spatial consequences of the transition into liberal democracy, especially in coalition governments dominated by Islamist parties. In this regard, the analysis of the latest election results could be particularly insightful.
The article proposals of up to 60,000 signs (cf normes de mise en page), notes, footnotes, bibliography and appendices included - must be received by email before April 30, 2012.
The coordinators: Ben Maher (maher.benrebah@ums-riate.fr) and Said Haddad (said.haddad@st-cyr.terre-net.defense.gouv.fr).