This research article attempts to scrutinize the nature and causes of the Arab uprisings which took people by surprise globally throughout 2011 and into 2012. The article argues that the repressive, violent nature of the Arab regimes and their suppression of individual liberties against a backdrop of ongoing corruption and deterioration of the economy have been among the major factors leading to the Arab revolts. In addition, the article attempts to answer the query: why were the two repressive regimes of Tunisia and Egypt so quick to come undone, whereas dismantling the Libyan regime took much longer? Finally, the article tries to develop a causation analysis as to why the Arab regimes of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman, and Sudan have not faced major political protest.

Framing current mobilization in the Middle East through the social metamorphosis of the last two hundred years underscores transformations afforded by the region’s participation in the making of a global, institutional, productive, and ideological modernity. This paper explores the emergence of new social agents and the social movements they have sought and precipitated. Ottoman modernity was characterized by fierce debates and the emergence of new activities and public spaces, which afforded the mobilization of established and novel social agents. These debates were forcefully suspended by mandate administrations and their local collaborators. The process of decolonization in mid-century and the wave of revolutions that unfolded in its wake brought historically marginal sectors to power in much of the region, who institutionalized their own visions of the common good. This paper presents a critical overview of the forms mobilization has taken in the region over the past decades—the social landscape and the dynamics of mobilization that have afforded the revolts and revolutions unfolding today. Finally, I discuss coverage of the uprisings in the Arab and international online press, pointing to synergies and gaps evidenced in interpretations of women’s participation in the riots and the Islamist presence in postrevolutionary consolidation processes.