This book tries to answer three questions: 1) A ‘why’ question: the reason we have been surprised by the arrival of the ‘Arab Spring.’ Do we have the right conceptual lenses to understand the region and its different political interactions? 2) A ‘who’ question: the number and type of different groups that launched the protests and occupied Al-Tahrir Square. 3) A ‘how’ question: the way these spontaneous groups coalesced together, overpowered police forces and finally forced former President Mubarak to resign after almost 30 years in power. In addition to the introduction, the book's 13 chapte ... More

This book tries to answer three questions: 1) A ‘why’ question: the reason we have been surprised by the arrival of the ‘Arab Spring.’ Do we have the right conceptual lenses to understand the region and its different political interactions? 2) A ‘who’ question: the number and type of different groups that launched the protests and occupied Al-Tahrir Square. 3) A ‘how’ question: the way these spontaneous groups coalesced together, overpowered police forces and finally forced former President Mubarak to resign after almost 30 years in power. In addition to the introduction, the book's 13 chapters are regrouped into four parts. These deal with the resistance and limits of authoritarian rule, group dynamics in Tahrir, an attempt to go beyond the immediate and looking ahead. The book has a general bibliography and some appendices of several historical documents of the period as well as a sample of Tahrir slogans.