A protest in Johannesburg against the lack of service delivery or basic necessities such as access to water and electricity.
Photo by Marco Longari / AFP via Getty images
The country is still a very different political space. It’s a noisy democracy with a free media, lots of dissenting voices, and insulting the government doesn’t carry any overt sanction.
Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe greets supporters massed at his party headquarters shortly before his ouster in 2017.
Jekesai Njikizana/AFP via Getty Images
The events of the past decade in the Middle East have upended the states in the region. What will the future hold?
In 2014, the Islamic State group could draw crowds of supporters, like these in Mosul, Iraq. But actual fighting recruits have been harder to come by.
AP Photo
Charles Kurzman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A second plot was planned on 9/11, but there were too few terrorists to carry it off. Twenty years later, al-Qaida and its offshoot the Islamic State group still have trouble attracting recruits.
Tunisian president Kais Saied has dismissed the prime minister and taken power.
EPA-EFE/Presidency of Tunisia handout
History tells us that the stability of a country’s security forces is key to the success or failure of a popular uprising.
Under tight security, Libyans mark the 10th anniversary of their 2011 uprising that led to the overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi in Martyrs Square, Tripoli, Libya.
(AP Photo/Hazem Ahmed)
Ten years after the Arab Spring, hope has given way to turmoil as Libyans have watched duelling governments and armed groups fight over the country’s oil riches. Is a new chance for peace afoot?
In Libya, the sense of jubilation after the revolt that brought down Muammar Gadaffi did not last long.
ZOHRA BENSEMRA/Alamy/Reuters
Despite moments of hope, worries about the present and fears that the future may be even worse have been rising for decades. What can geopolitics teach us about the global impact of fear?
President-elect Joe Biden speaks on Nov. 10, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. Can he bring compassion to foreign policy?
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
It’s been said that empathy is Joe Biden’s superpower. A therapeutic approach to foreign policy under Biden might go a long way in easing tensions around the world exacerbated by Donald Trump.
Saudi King Salman accompanies Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, left, during the 40th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2019.
(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Gulf monarchies emerged from the Arab Spring relatively unscathed, while some Middle East republics were devastated by civil war. Here’s how they managed — and how education may have played a part.
Protests don’t simply turn violent because people have “nothing to lose”. Police behaviour and group psychology also plays a part.
Despite the 2015 terrorist attack in Sousse, Tunisia, shown in this photo, the north African country remains a relatively safe country for investors compared to some of its neighbours.
(Shutterstock)
Those who conduct business in Tunisia consider it a low-risk security environment compared to some of its neighbours in North Africa and the Middle East.
In an official White House photo, President Donald Trump stands alone.
Shealah Craighead/White House
Both President Trump and President Obama used military force without informing Congress, or getting its approval. But the differences reveal more than the similarities.
Today’s protests are driven more by anger over social and economic inequity than deep-seated grievances against a regime.
Orlando Barria/EPA
People get angry far more often than they rebel. And rebellions rarely become revolutions. An expert on the French Revolution explains why today’s protest movements are different.
Former Tunisian President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.
EFE-EPA/Stringer
The United States is exhibiting several of the signs that have historically resulted in uprisings and revolutions. Is another American revolution looming?