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The Arab Spring

The Arab Spring

Hamid Dabashi

(2012)

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Abstract

This pioneering explanation of the Arab Spring will define a new era of thinking about the Middle East. In this landmark book, Hamid Dabashi argues that the revolutionary uprisings that have engulfed multiple countries and political climes from Morocco to Iran and from Syria to Yemen, were driven by a 'Delayed Defiance' - a point of rebellion against domestic tyranny and globalized disempowerment alike - that signifies no less than the end of Postcolonialism. Sketching a new geography of liberation, Dabashi shows how the Arab Spring has altered the geopolitics of the region so radically that we must begin re-imagining the 'the Middle East'. Ultimately, the 'permanent revolutionary mood' Dabashi brilliantly explains has the potential to liberate not only those societies already ignited, but many others through a universal geopolitics of hope.
‘Dabashi provides a revolutionary, imaginative and open-ended reading of what will turn out to be a founding moment of the twenty-first century.’ Fawwaz Traboulsi, author of A History of Modern Lebanon ‘This illuminating and beautifully written book, by a brave intellectual and a brilliant scholar who knows the terrain like the back of his hand, traces the genealogy of this unique moment and offers a bird’s eye view of the horizons it promises.’ Sinan Antoon, poet and novelist ‘A refreshing, thoughtful and historical reading of the dramatic changes sweeping the Arab world.’ Marwan Bishara, senior political analyst, Al Jazeera ‘The Arab Spring is enormously enlightening and original, a landmark work of a political and historical convulsion of immense proportion and significance. The book is so rich, careful and systematic in making its case that I expect it to define a new paradigm regarding the nature of revolution itself.’ Alamin Mazrui, Rutgers University ‘Embracing the poetic justice of the Arab Spring, Hamid Dabashi seizes upon and expresses the lyrical. He recounts philosophically an open-ended non-linear story, which is still in the making.’ Elia Suleiman, filmmaker ‘The depth and richness of Dabashi’s perspective contrasts with the barrenness of the modernization paradigm dominant in the West’s academy and media as much as in liberal, nationalist and socialist Arab accounts. It offers a fresh look at some deeper resources of Arab societies and cultures.’ Haifa Zangana, writer and activist 'No one is better place to examine these crucial questions than Hamid Dabashi. Acclaimed scholar, critic and cultural observer, Dabashi has an intimate knowledge of the region, its geopolitics, history and societies, and the interpretive power to see clearly into the face of the revolution.' Dr Michael Sosteric, The Socjournal 'This book is an important contribution to our understanding of the Arab Spring. It deserves to be warmly welcomed and widely read.' Jack Farmer, Socialist Review 'It is believed that the difference between a pundit and an expert is that the former observes the horizons from the seat of a plane at 40,000 feet while the latter surveys the same ground from a low flying helicopter. Dabashi is that rare hybrid of a pundit and and an expert who deftly and seamlessly transitions between vividly detailed vignettes of the events on the ground and broad vistas of global, historical trends. Get ready for a smooth and breath-taking flight!' Mahmoud Sadri, Texas Woman's University and the Federation of North Texas Area Universities
Hamid Dabashi is the Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. Born in Iran, he received a dual PhD in Sociology of Culture and Islamic Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University. An internationally renowned cultural critic, his writings have been translated into numerous languages.

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
About the Author ii
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xv
Introduction | The Arab Spring: The End of Postcoloniality 1
The Future is Here 2
The Blossoming of the Arab Spring 4
Overcoming the Politics of Despair 8
The End of the ‘Postcolonial’ 9
Delayed Defiance 12
Back into the Force Field of History 15
One | Decentering the World: How the Arab Spring Unfolded 17
Remapping the World 25
Uprisings versus Empire or versus Imperialism? 29
Ethnos sous rature 38
Two | Towards a Liberation Geography 41
De-ethnicizing the Worlds 45
Decolonizing Theory 46
Nationalizing Geography 49
Anthropology and Colonialism 50
Alternative Maps of the World 55
Three | A New Language of Revolt 59
An Open-ended Revolt 63
Neo-Orientalism? 65
Towards a Hermeneutics of Public Space 69
The World in Itself 75
Knowledge of Unfolding Things 77
The Revolting Orientals 80
Variations on an Orientalist Theme 83
Re/subjecting a Revolutionary Persona 86
Four | Discovering a New World 89
Things Fall Apart 90
Tahrir Square 94
Exposing Hypocrisies — Left and Right 101
What’s Good for the Goose 106
Imagining a New World 111
What Language, What World? 114
Five | From the Green Movement to the Jasmine Revolution 119
For the Left to be Right 122
Illiberal Neoliberalism 127
The Dialectics of Transnationalism 133
Transcending Sectarianism: The Sunni–Shi’i Divide 135
Six | The Center Cannot Hold 138
Who is History’s Master? 141
The East is West, the West is East 144
False Anxieties 146
The Islamic Republic in Bahrain 149
Decolonizing a World 153
Seven | The End of Postcolonialism 155
The Genealogy of an Argument 155
What Does Post-ideological Mean? 157
The Point of Ideological Meltdown 161
Dismantling a Colonized Mind 163
Societal Modernity and Aesthetic Reason 165
Semiotic Intransigence 169
Eight | Race, Gender, and Class in Transnational Revolutions 171
Changing the Lyrics 174
Race and Racism 175
Gender 182
Class and Labor 193
God is Great — So is Freedom 200
Nine | Libya: The Crucible and the Politics of Space 203
Selling the Sea to Stay in Power 207
The Making of a Transnational Civil Rights Movement 213
Ten | Delayed Defiance 218
The Dialogism of Open-ended Revolt 223
Indexical Utterances 229
Vox Populi, Vox Dei 231
Conclusion | The People Demand the Overthrow of the Regime 235
Writing as an Act of Solidarity 236
Open-ended Revolutions 237
Dismantling the Regime of Knowledge 240
Things Not Dreamt in Their Philosophy 243
Re-Orienting the World 249
Bibliography 255
Index 263