David McMurray is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Oregon State University. His publications include In and Out of Morocco: Migration and Smuggling in a Frontier Boomtown.Amanda Ufheil-Somers is Assistant Editor, Middle East Report, and a member of the editorial committee of the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP).

"[T]he contributors to The Arab Revolts . . . do an excellent job of filling in some of the gaps in Western media coverage, going beyond the dominant narrative of spontaneous youthful protests, aided by the use of social media, to show a foundation of protest built over decades. . . . This is not a book written by academics for academics, but rather serves as an introduction to readers from any background. The articles are generally free from convoluted jargon or theoretical frameworks that could otherwise limit potential readership. The authors tackle complex problems, but present them in a way that is useful for scholars, teachers, students, and general readers."—H-Empire"The editors of this exceptionally well-conceptualized collection have chosen writings that complement each other well. Each section begins with the present-day situation, and the subsequent essays describe the historical background of mass protests. At the end of each section is a writing that connects the historical themes back to the modern protest movements."—Against the Current"This excellent collection of articles from Middle East Report provides an unusually deep and wide analysis of the phenomena collectively known as the Arab Spring. . . . The articles are well written and accessible to students, as well as to general readers, and hold much interest to specialists in Middle East politics as well."—Review of Middle East Studies"For anyone trying to understand the processes of popular revolt and mechanisms of repression, The Arab Revolts is a good place to start."—Anthropology of Contemporary Middle-East and Central Eurasia"This is easily the best volume on the Arab uprisings yet published. The material is very strong and accessibly written, providing rich background on the political and economic contexts in the region prior to the uprisings as well as after the events of 2011 unfolded, based on substantive knowledge. . . .Ideal for students, policymakers, and general readers."—Jillian Schwedler, University of Massachusetts

• IntroductionI. Tunisia1.Tunisia's Wall Has FallenNadia Marzouki2.Tunisia's Post-Ben Ali Challenge: A PrimerAmy Aisen Kallander3.Authoritarianism and Civil Society in Tunisia: Back from the Democratic BrinkChristopher Alexander4.Structural Adjustment and Rural Poverty in TunisiaStephen King5.The Making of North Africa's IntifadasLaryssa Chomiak and John P. Entelis6.Beyond Ghannouchi: Social Change and Islamism in TunisiaFrancesco Cavatorta and Rikke Hostrup HaugbolleII. Egypt7.The Praxis of the Egyptian RevolutionMona El-Ghobashy8.Worlds Apart: An Egyptian Village and the International Tourism IndustryTimothy Mitchell9.Strikes in Egypt Spread from Center of GravityJoel Beinin and Hossam El-Hamalawy10.Striking Back at Egyptian WorkersHesham Sallam11.Sightings of the Egyptian Deep State Issandr El Amrani12.Egypt's Generals and Transnational Capital Shana Marshall and Joshua StacherIII. Yemen13.No Exit: Yemen's Existential CrisisSheila Carapico14. The Economic Dimension of Yemeni UnitySheila Carapico15.Cracks in the Yemeni SystemSarah Phillips16.The Snake with a Thousand Heads: The Southern Cause in YemenSusanne Dahlgren17.Tawakkul Karman as Cause and EffectStacey Philbrick YadavIV. Syria18.Asad's Lost ChancesCarsten Wieland19.The Resilience of the Syrian RegimeBassam Haddad20. The Evolution of Kurdish Politics in SyriaChristian Sinclair and Sirwan Kajjo21.Dramas of the Authoritarian StateDonatella Della Ratta22.Beyond the Fall of the Syrian RegimePeter Harling and Sarah BirkeV: Bahrain23.A Revolution Paused in BahrainCortni Kerr and Toby Jones24.Bahrain's Crisis WorsensJoe Stork25.The Battle Over Family Law in BahrainSandy Russell Jones26.Bahrain's Sunni AwakeningJustin Gengler27.In the Kingdom of TeargasGregg Carlstrom