Introduction

  • William C. Taylor
Chapter

Abstract

In the course of human events, we are often reminded that much in life is unpredictable. Many of life’s most significant events catch us by surprise. The Iranian Revolution of 1979, the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, the attack on America’s Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the housing bubble in 2007, and the Arab Awakening of 2011 immediately come to mind. Despite the best efforts of pundits, academics, and intelligence analysts to forecast the future, historical events periodically remind us of our limitations to do so. December 17, 2010, was such an event. No one could have predicted that a seemingly inconsequential event in a tiny—and some would say a minor—player in the Middle East, Tunisia, would change the course of history throughout the broader Middle East. But it did. A 26-year-old street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in utter desperation and protest at the injustice of the status quo. By March 2011, protests had swept the broader Middle East. Some regimes survived; others crumbled. There is still much we do not understand about the events of 2010–2011; however, we do know that the sociopolitical fabric of the region has been forever altered.

Keywords

Middle East Relative Deprivation Social Unrest Arab State Military School 
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Notes

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© William C. Taylor 2014

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