Publication

In retrospect of the ‘Arab Spring’, most commentators believe that this is something that has happened – a past event which left in its wake just chaos – a sort of Middle East ‘default setting’. But the truth is that the uprisings that swept across a number of Middle East countries, ‘kickedoff’ by the suicide of 26 year old Mohamed Bouazizi, is far from over. However, calls for Kony 2012, Assad 2012 or Mugabe 2012 are likely to be impotent in mobilizing government support for military action - such actions being reserved for critical national interests now, as they have been in the past.