The People Want: A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising - Softcover

Gilbert Achcar; G.M. Goshgarian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0863568998 ISBN 13: 9780863568992

Publisher: Saqi Books, 2013

Synopsis

The people want ... So began the slogan chanted by millions of protesters across the Arab world in 2011, as their long-suppressed craving for democracy revealed itself. But huge social and economic problems were also laid bare by the protestors demands. In this landmark work, noted Middle East analyst Gilbert Achcar draws up a balance sheet of the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Syria, and analyses the specific socio-economic features that hinder the region s development. Achcar also sheds light on the nature and role of the movements that use Islam as a political banner and the oil monarchies that sponsor them. With incisive and invaluable insight, Achcar outlines the requirements for a lasting solution to the social crisis and the contours of a progressive political alternative. What we have witnessed to date is only the beginning of a revolutionary process that is likely to extend for many more years to come.

About this title

About the Author:

Gilbert Achcar is Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His other works include Perilous Power: The Middle East and US Foreign Policy, with Noam Chomsky. Author location: London,UK. G.M. Goshgarian was born in the United States and educated at Yale and UCLA, translates fiction and philosophy from French, German and Armenian into English. He is the author of To Kiss the Chastening Rod (Cornell U.P.) and of lengthy introductions to two recent collections of the work of Louis Althusser, The Humanist Controversy and Philosophy of the Encounter.

Review:

'A thoughtful and acute analysis ... Insightful, thought-provoking and compelling ... Any reader who would like a clear-eyed, theoretically grounded and lucid assessment of what the Arab uprisings have wrought so far would benefit from Gilbert Achcar s The People Want.' The Middle East in London 'An incisive analysis of the Arab revolts...' CIDOB 'The People Want provides great insight into the current situation in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain and Syria ... [It] offers a valuable, in-depth and original perspective for evaluating the popular revolts which continue to determine events in the Arab region.' Jordan Times 'Gilbert Achcar's The People Want offers a new perspective - Achcar steers away from oversimplification by focusing specifically on why the movement took the form of a regional shockwave and how its contagious nature reveals important factors often ignored in mainstream discourse ... Achcar's analysis of the impact of workers' and women's movements is extremely valuable, as these have been largely overlooked by other commentators ... Achcar's ideas are certainly deserving of debate. His insights offer a reasoned practical hope, whereas other analysts on the left offer doom and gloom. Moreover, Achcar's chapter providing a "balance sheet" of what has been achieved so far in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya and Syria, as well as an assessment of future prospects in each country, is indispensable.' Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

About this edition

• Publisher: Saqi Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0863568998
• ISBN 13: 9780863568992
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 358