Winners And Losers In The Arab Spring Profiles In Chaos Ucla Center For Middle East Development Cmed

This book looks at the way primarily external actors influenced and were influenced by the revolutionary chaos that erupted in the Arab Middle East in 2011. The Arab revolutions radically altered the Middle East dynamic and particularly the strategic standing of key actors, both locally and globally.

The âwinnersâ are leaders with strategic understanding of the region and a scheme for exploiting the chaosâPutin, Netanyahu and Iranâs Qasem Soleimaniâalong with, strikingly, the very institution of Arab monarchy. The âlosersâ are the Arab autocrats who were deposed in Egypt, Libya and Yemen. The Palestinians, seemingly bypassed by the dynamic of Arab revolution, are also losers. So are the American presidentsâBush 43 and Obamaâwhose disastrous strategic decision-making catalyzed Arab state fragmentation and opened the gates of the Levant to Iranâs drive for regional hegemony. Western democratic society suffered tooâfrom waves of Islamist terrorism and the effects of Muslim migration generated at least in part by Arab chaos. Only in the case of two leaders was the jury still out by 2019. The effects of the high-risk policies of Saudi Arabiaâs crown prince Mohamed bin Salman and the strategically incoherent policies of US President Trump remain to be seen.

Winners and Losers in the âArab Springâ takes a global look at a massive regional upheaval that is far from over. It is an essential read for everybody interested in the Arab revolutions, Middle East and international strategic affairs.