Youth, the "Arab Spring," and Social Movements

Almost two years after the inception of the so-called Arab Spring some of its primary constituencies remain enigmatic. To a certain degree, this is an effect of previous scholarly interest in various regimes' strategies for maintaining their monopolization of critical resources, and, ultimately, of state power. The literature on durable authoritarianism has taught us much about autocratic longevity and the structures and dynamics that underpinned the management of the populace, as well as marginalization of challengers in a variety of regimes throughout the region. As some scholars have recently observed, however, the focus on authoritarian regimes' staying power led to overestimations of their strength and, correspondingly, to underestimations of their publics. Of course studies of social movements, resistant populations, and opposition groups are plentiful and trends like the growth of Islamist groups have received copious attention. Copyright © Middle East Studies Association of North America, Inc. 2013.