Women in countries such as India, Pakistan and others have long organized campaigns against sexual violence – many of which have resulted in stronger laws in these countries.
The Algerian population has taken to the streets in a peaceful and nonviolent manner to protest against President Bouteflika’s running for a fifth term of office.
Ryad Kramdi/AFP
Demonstrations against Abdelaziz Bouteflika have opened up a rare space for debate and self-expression – and could signal a change to a more free and involved civil society in Algeria.
The presidents of Russia and Egypt.
AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, Pool
Protests seem contagious when they erupt in several countries at the same time. But new research shows that unrest rarely spreads. It’s protest symbols, like France’s yellow vests, that go global.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir at the Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia in April 2018.
EPA-EFE/Stringer
Durham University student Matthew Hedges has been jailed for life for ‘spying’ in UAE.
The Arab Spring was a revolutionary wave of both violent and non-violent demonstrations, protests, riots, coups and civil wars in North Africa.
ymphotos/shutterstock
Study suggests that the UN’s own principles sometimes prevented it from living up to its objectives
Seven years after Tahrir Square became the focal point of the Egyptian Revolution, towering metal gates now control access.
Ahmed Abd El-Fatah/Wikimedia
Today’s urban public spaces tend to represent governments and cities rather than people and citizens. Architects and urban designers should contribute to shaping spaces for freedom and interaction.
At first, the 2010s seemed full of hope for democracy. The picture today is rather more complicated.
An Egyptian street vendor selling bread walks past as a tear gas canister (background) fired by riot police during clashes with protesters near Cairo’s Tahrir Square on January 29, 2013.
Khhaled Desouki/AFP
Egyptians’ revolutionary demands for ‘bread, freedom and social justice’ are a distant memory.
Protestors stand behind burning barricades during clashes with riot police near the Tunisian capital of Tunis in January 2018. Violent protests over price hikes raised fears of broader unrest in the country that was the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
(AP Photo/Amine Landoulsi)
Decentralization in the Middle East and North Africa is supposed to lead to greater public representation in municipal politics. In fact, it is largely strengthening authoritarianism.
Protester mocking President al-Sisi.
Alisdare Hickson
Activists often face intransigent regimes and ruthless warlords. But women can use traditional insights into femininity and motherhood for political mobilisation and resistance.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro (center) attends a graduation of National Armed Forces.
Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS
The loyalty of Venezuela’s soldiers is getting shaky. History shows from the Arab Spring to Latin American coups, when the military withdraws support for a leader, a fall from power is imminent.