US Approaches to the Arab Uprisings: International Relations and Democracy Promotion

From nonviolent protests in Cairo and Manama to the ousting of Libya's Gaddafi and the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, the series of uprisings which swept through the Middle East and North Africa from late 2010 have been burdened with the collective hopes and expectations of the world. Western supporters quickly identified these uprisings as a collective 'awakening' - a move towards democracy - but the continued unrest in these regions defies many of these more optimistic contemporary predictions. As the region remains unstable, the US and their Western allies are faced with the challenging task of modifying their strategic foreign policy goals to suit the currently mercurial Arab World. The 'Arab Spring' and its failure exposed a new set of questions: What motivates American 'democracy promotion'? Does the US really want self-determination in the Middle-East and North Africa? Where did the expectations of the protestors fit into this narrative? U.S. Approaches to the Arab Uprisings provides a comprehensive assessment of Western foreign policy towards the Arab World today. With analysis on subjects as diverse as social media and Islamic centrism, and drawing from examples throughout the MENA region, the book deals with the perception of Arabs and Arab culture in the American psyche and its effect on East-West relations. By analyzing both Western responses to uprisings and the reactions of the protestors themselves, the contributors expose theoretical and practical inconsistencies that suggest a rising tension between those that promote democracy and those who practice it.

Table of Contents:
TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments Notes on Contributors Introduction: Contesting the Dominant Narratives of the Arab Spring Michael J. McNeal and Amentahru Wahlrab Washington’s Liberalist Ideological Stance and Contradictory Policies in the Middle East Michael J. McNeal Strategic or Democratic Interests? Framing US Foreign Policy in the Middle East Uprisings Anthony R. DiMaggio 4. The Arab Spring, US Intervention in Libya, and the Lingering Politics of Rwandan Remorse Isaac Kamola 5. Whither Wasatiyya? Locating Egypt’s Liminal Actors Five Years after the Uprising Michaelle Browers 6. Discourses of Democracy and Gender: How and Why Do Women’s Rights Matter? Meghana Nayak 7. Justin Zongo and the Place of the “Arab Spring”: Repression, Resistance, and Revolution in Egypt and Burkina Faso Nicholas A. Jackson 8. A Matter of Protest: the Arab Spring in Syria Larbi Sadiki and Layla Saleh 9. Making Revolutionaries out of “Safe Citizens”: Sovereignty, Political Violence, and the Arab Uprisings Amentahru Wahlrab 10. The Arab Uprisings and Twenty-First-Century Global Crisis: Is There an Emerging Network of Global Dissent? Eric Fattor Index

About the Author :
Amentahru Wahlrab is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas at Tyler. Michael J. McNeal is Adjunct Instructor in Political Science at the Metropolitan State University, Denver.

Review :
"Contesting the dominant representations of the uprisings in the MENA region, US Approaches to the Arab Uprising casts a fresh look at these events as it probes into the conflicting relationship between the rhetoric and reality of US Foreign Policy and its efforts towards democracy promotion in the Arab World. Contributors to the volume unsettle conventional understandings through critically oriented, empirically, theoretically and methodologically rich close readings of the episodes unfolding in a wide-range of places - from Syria to Burkina Faso from Kigali to Washington. Accessible to both academic and non-academic audiences, the edited volume provides a valuable resource to anyone who is interested in coming to grips with this crucial moment in global politics." - Asli Calkivik, Istanbul Technical University, "Unlike many existing accounts of the Arab Uprisings in the early 2010s, this collection critically and astutely examines the crucial links between democratization, pluralism, political agency in the unfolding of these monumental events. Most importantly, this volume greatly contributes to a better understanding of the pivotal role of Western media in creating self-serving and highly misleading discourses about Middle Eastern politics and societies. Highly recommended!" - Manfred B. Steger, Professor of Sociology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa and Honorary Professor of Global Studies, RMIT University