Amazigh Politics In The Wake Of The Arab Spring

"In the wake of the uprisings that spread across several countries in the Middle East and North Africa beginning in December 2010, scholars and political correspondents were quick to provide analyses of the regime changes and political fallout of what became dubbed the "Arab Spring." While an abundance of commentary has focused on the majority, city-dwelling populations who most visibly participated in the protests, there has been little examination of the impact these mass political upheavals have had on Amazigh communities, often known as Berbers, who live throughout much of North Africa and the Sahel. Maddy-Weitzman investigates Amazigh identity movements within the context of the Arab Spring. He contends that, although the countries in which Amazigh groups have the largest populations (Morocco and Algeria) did not witness substantial challenges to their governments, the Amazigh have been central to questions of political legitimacy and status quo within these countries"--

On television, the Arab Spring took place in Cairo, Tunis, and the city-states of the Persian Gulf. Yet the drama of 2010, and the decade of subsequent activism, extended beyond the cities—indeed, beyond Arabs. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman brings to light the sustained post–Arab Spring political movement of North Africa’s Amazigh people. The Amazigh movement did not begin with the Arab Spring, but it has changed significantly since then. Amazigh Politics in the Wake of the Arab Spring details the increasingly material goals of Amazigh activism, as protest has shifted from the arena of ethnocultural recognition to that of legal and socioeconomic equality. Amazigh communities responded to the struggles for freedom around them by pressing territorial and constitutional claims while rejecting official discrimination and neglect. Arab activists, steeped in postcolonial nationalism and protective of their hegemonic position, largely refused their support, yet flailing regimes were forced to respond to sharpening Amazigh demands or else jeopardize their threadbare legitimacy. Today the Amazigh question looms larger than ever, as North African governments find they can no longer ignore the movement’s interests.

Bullets and Bulletins: Media and Politics in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings takes a sobering and holistic look at the intersections between media and politics before, during, and in the reverberations of the Arab uprisings. The strength of this volume lies in its multi-disciplinary approach to the topic, with the research backed up by in-depth and rigorous case studies of the key countries of the Arab Spring. The uprisings were accompanied by profound changes in the roles of traditional and new media across the Middle East. What added significantly to the amplification of demands and grievances in the public spheres, streets, and squares, was the dovetailing of an increasingly indignant population-ignited by the prospects of economic and political marginalisation-with high rates of media literacy, digital connectivity, and social media prowess. This combination of political activism and mediated communication turned popular street protests into battles over information, where authorities and activists wrestled with each other over media messages.Information and communication technologies were used by both government authorities and protestors as simultaneous tools for silencing or amplifying dissent. Bullets and Bulletins offers original insights and analysis into the role of traditional and new media in what is undoubtedly a most critical period in contemporary Middle Eastern history.

This comprehensive Routledge Handbook on the Modern Maghrib introduces and analyses the region in its full complexity, focusing on the countries of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya, as well as the northern and western Sahara. In addition to country studies that provide historical and geopolitical background, a series of thematic explorations engage with a range of social, linguistic, cultural and economic aspects, providing a rich mosaic of current scholarship on the region. Addressing important debates such as the volatile international relations among constituent states, the role of women in society, and the environmental impact of climate change, the book considers natural resources, music, media and language, and revisits the history of borders and social tribal structures. What emerges is not only a variegated picture of the Maghrib as a complex and rapidly changing region, but one marked by stark contrasts and divergences among its constituent states based on their Ottoman and colonial experiences, their relationships with their Saharan and Mediterranean neighbours, and their own political trajectories. This Handbook fills an important gap in knowledge on a region increasingly significant in European and American affairs, and will appeal to anyone interested in the history, economies and societies of North Africa.

Orit Ouaknine-Yekutieli examines the life and deeds of Thami al-Glaoui (1879-1956), and the multiple ways in which his story has been told. She investigates his biography as a creation continuing beyond the demise of its protagonist, asserting a conflation of history, story and storytelling. The book also reconfigures the story of major events and processes in modern Moroccan history and historiography. Thami al-Glaoui, leader of the Amazigh Glaoua tribe and Pasha of Marrakesh throughout Morocco's colonial era (1912-56), was the third most powerful person in Morocco, after the Sultan and the French Resident-General, by the 1930s. In 1953, he was a key supporter of the deportation of Sultan Mohamed V by the French. After recanting three years later, he was pardoned by the returning Sultan, but died shortly afterwards. In the four decades that followed, al-Glaoui became a synonym in Morocco for betrayal and corruption. In the 21st century, however, the ways in which he is told became more complex, and his reputation has been somewhat revised.

This volume serves to make sense of the political, cultural, and social change that has occurred in North Africa since the Arab Spring. It includes a number of contributions which address the issue of democracy and cultural identity. The book points to the fact that North Africa needs a workable paradigm for political order, which answers to the economic, social, and cultural challenges and peculiarities of African society in an increasingly globalizing world. This will require that we eschew a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. The book, which targets students, academia, and civil society, argues that North Africa’s solutions must be defined and advised by policies which reflect the cultural realities of the society they are intended to serve.

In the aftermath of the turmoil that shook North Africa in late 2010 and early 2011, commentators and analysts have sought explanations to the factors that triggered the uprisings and to understand why a region, seemingly characterized by relative stability for decades, would suddenly erupt in convulsions. Had an underlying dynamism in the region overwhelmed what were ostensibly stable authoritarian regimes? What were the connections to events and dynamics beyond the region, such as countries in the Middle East, international commodity markets, and environmental factors, amongst others? Why had allies abetted authoritarianism for so long, and what were the implications for such alliances? North African Politics: Change and continuity brings together experts to explore these questions, providing in-depth analyses of important developments in the region, which build upon and complement the 2008 companion volume, North Africa: Politics, Region and the Limits of Transformation. This 21-chapter volume is a key contribution that responds to the need in the Anglo-American sphere for sustained, critical studies on North Africa and examines political, economic, security, social and military aspects of the region. Focused studies on individual countries allow detailed discussion of regional factors. The book also examines extrinsic, trans-regional dynamics, such as North Africa’s influential interdependencies with the Levant and the Gulf, Europe, Sahelian and sub-Saharan Africa, and North America. Its innovative approach provides new perspectives on North Africa, extending its research scope to include Egypt and exploring China’s evolving role in the region. Providing an important contribution in the assessment of the ever-shifting political and social tectonics within and beyond North Africa, North African Politics is an essential resource for students, scholars and policy makers in Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and beyond.

There is a growing recognition of the role that culture can play in sustainable development strategies. This development has generally been welcomed, but also raises a number of questions: What are the implications in policy and practice? Who are the most influential voices in promoting a global agenda for culture and development, and to what extent has the creation of new international policy instruments reflected a consensus? More fundamentally, what is meant by "culture" in these discussions and who has the power to give particular definitions political and legal authority? The Politics of Cultural Development seeks to provide a theoretically and historically informed response to such questions, illustrated by reference to case studies (including the European Union, the Caribbean and China). Particular attention is paid to the formation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and the Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, a landmark instrument in debates about culture and development. The book goes on to explore some of the practical implications that this international treaty is beginning to have for the ways that culture is (and is not) being integrated into contemporary development policy and practice. This book will be useful for students, academics and policymakers in the fields of international development, international relations, international political economy, cultural policy and cultural theory.