Mohamed Hamchi (Batna): For the Sake of the Mediterranean, De-Securitize the Arab Spring. From the Journal of Democracy, Nathan Brown (GWU): Tracking the "Arab Spring": Egypt’s Failed Transition; and Steven Heydemann (Georgetown): Tracking the "Arab Spring": Syria and the Future of Authoritarianism. Nearly three years after Tunisians rose up, most Arab dictators remain in power — why did the Middle East's season of ferment deliver so little change? Meet the man who co-opted democracy in the Middle East: Now that the Arab Spring has been turned into a totally owned subsidiary of the Saudi royal family, it is time to take note of Prince Bandar bin Sultan. A new brain trust for the Middle East: Where will the region find fresh ideas for its future? A plan takes root. Where a moustache can mean life or death: Easily identified by trademark facial hair, Kakai Kurds in northern Iraq live under constant threat. From World Affairs, Oray Egin on Syria, Iran, and Kurdish independence. In Syria, code language defies surveillance: Joshua J. Friedman on how people communicate when the government is watching. Laura Dean on the unluckiest people on Earth: Syrians refugees thought Egypt would be safe — they were wrong. Isaac Chotiner on how Syria is going to become Al Qaedastan (and three other myths about Obama's Syria foreign policy). Jonathan Marks reviews Tocqueville in Arabia: Dilemmas in a Democratic Age by Joshua Mitchell. Martin W. Lewis on Robin Wright’s audacious remapping of the Middle East.
