This book is a collection of working papers and testimonies about the Arab revolutions and some of the accompanying transformations between the years 2010 and 2013 in the context of what has been termed “the Arab Spring”, presented by members and friends of the Arab Network for the Study of Democracy.

The entire region is moving toward an escape from the authoritarian paradigm, which has governed the region for many decades, and entering into a long and complicated transitional stage full of conflict that will touch all of the regimes at different times and to different degrees. The Arab world is gradually feeling its way toward democracy, despite the cloudiness of the future and the inconclusiveness of present conditions resulting from myriad complications and reflecting the specifics of each country. 

The Arab world seems to be in the midst of a thorny path, where problems emerge and are compounded. There are four key challenges and potential sources of difficulty for the future: First, the adaptation of the currents of political Islam to the parameters of secular democracy; second, the building of democratic institutions; third, economic growth; and, fourth, human rights and equality between men and women.

This book presents a balanced and rich reading of still on-going events whose direct and indirect effects will remain present and influential for many years to come.