Arab Uprisings and Mass Politics: Possibilities, Constraints, and Uncertainty

The uprisings that have swept across the Middle East and North Africa region have unleashed new or reenergized existing movements expressing deep dissatisfaction with the status quo. Popular demands for change have ranged from the clearly political to the strictly economic. Economic crises, unreformed security sectors, and corruption continue periodically to draw people into the streets to reassert the power that forced initial regime changes two years ago. Brand examines developments in Egypt and Jordan to explore both the forms of greater mass participation and their implications for regional foreign policy.