The New Middle East: The World After the Arab Spring

by Paul Danahar

For the past forty years the story of the Middle East has been simple. The news images flashing across our TV screens from the Middle East provoked anger, outrage and, sometimes military action from the international community. But now the handful of dictators who ruled over hundreds of millions of people with an iron fist are locked up, exiled, fighting for their lives or buried in unmarked graves, leaving behind countries in turmoil. Saddam Hussein, Assad, Ben Ali, Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak all lived lives of cartoonish excess, stalked their own people, snatched them from their beds and murdered them before their children. The West propped these men up because, so the story went, the alternative was states falling under the influence of the communist block or later into the arms of radical Islam.

That narrative of the old Middle East lasted as long as the old Arab dictators did. But now these men are gone. In 2011 the people of the western world realised for the first time that the people of the Arab world weren't all brooding fanatics who needed to be kept in check by a reign of terror. If now is the first time that they can speak openly then it is also our first chance to listen. We can ask what kind of societies they are going to build and learn how their decisions will change our lives. The countries engulfed by the Arab Spring -Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria - are on a journey from dictatorship to democracy and together they will shape a New Middle East. Danahar also reveals the quiet but equally profound revolution going in Israel where tensions between religious and secular Jews are threatening the fabric of society. He investigates how that and the changing regional dynamics while shape the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Genres: Middle East, History, Nonfiction, Politics, Africa, Current Affairs, Political Science

480 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2013

Reviews

[Henna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I happened to be in Tunis on a business trip in the beginning of 2011, in the middle of the demonstrations and the tanks when the Arab Spring had just recently started. I was there again, a bit later, when the city was filled with Libyan refugees escaping from the war that finally killed Gaddafi. Hopes for a free & glowing future were high during the internet-sprung revolution all over the Middle East countries, but why is it taking so long for Tunisia or the other involved countries to become reborn, even if most of their dictators have been deposed?

Paul Danahar, BBC´s Middle East Bureau Chief for 2010-2013, tries to explain this in his book (this new edition published in 2015), writing through his personal experience, as well as through a historic background. His account is very readable, with a historic focus and a wide scope, and for me this book is most of all, a well founded and explained historic account of the Middle East during the 20-21st century and a great learning!

Danahar starts his book from Tunis where the revolution kicked off, and from where it spread to the rest of the region mainly via the social media. Tunisia was the birthplace of the revolution and also is the country which has best managed to organize itself after Ben Ali was deposed. It must be said though, that Iran, with its young and educated population had actually already started an uprising in 2009 with their “Green Movement” some 18 months before the rest of the region, and despite the dislike by the Saudis, the American foreign policy seemed determined at the time to find a deal there, and positively so, its final step was finally found in the summer of 2015, roughly a year after Ahmadinejad was replaced by Rouhani.

Next Danahar moves on to Egypt, explaining the fall of Mubarak and the rise of the Brotherhood. The intention to free the country was there, but once this was accomplished, the only structured organization ready to rule was the Brotherhood…

Moving on to Palestina, the author explains the weakening of the PLO versus the strengthening of HAMAS (an organization primarily fighting for the sake of land, not God, as I learned in this book, mainly active within the boundaries of historic Palestine, modelled after Egyptian muslim brotherhood). Danahar explains how Palestina conflict has its origins in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the Balfour declaration of 1917 as well as the World War I peace treaty outcome and the Arab Israeli War of 1948 (which broke the UN partition plan of 1947, and which only worsened the underlying issues). Failure of 1978 Camp David Accords implementation, and the terrible atrocities (especially during Ariel Sharon´s time as Israeli Defence Minister in 1982 just to mention one amongst many) during the Palestine-Israeli conflict are described. 1993 agreement between Israel (represented by Yitzhak Rabin) and PLO (represented by Yasser Arafat) resulted into the awarding of the 1994 peace price to both, and to Shimon Peres, however which unfortunately did not result in long lasting reconciliation as we know.

Danahar opened my eyes also to the internal complicated and aggressive power struggles ongoing in Israel between the secular and religious Zionists and the ultra Orthodox Jews, as well as with the multitude immigrants and religions present there. I always had the naïve idea that Israel was a solid united front, but it no longer seems to be the case.

Role of the US in the Middle East, and the American foreign policy is debated by the author. “The perverse simplicity of dealing with dictators” pretty accurately summarizes US foreign policy until they had to believe that the Arab spring was irreversible and they had to take a stand. US foreign policy in the region has been based on Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel (clearly shown with the US lack of action in Bahrain (under the sphere of Saudi influence) during the Arab spring). Shia vs Sunni conflict has had to be taken into account as well as the Brotherhood and the Saudis animosity.

The Gulf states are shortly covered, and have been the driving force of the region. The Arab spring never really arrived to the Gulf States who were simply advancing their own interests in the region during and after the revolutions. The author questions whether a change will eventually come to the Gulf too, and in what scale.

Danahar writes his memories of US invasion of Baghdad (he was there on the ground) and explains how the disastrous and chaotic occupation tentative of Iraq (home to world´s second largest oil reserves) ended up costing over 60 bill USD and dictated the cautious US reaction to the other 2 civil wars that broke out during the Arab Spring. Iraq´s problems and Shia/Sunni power struggles date back to 1917 when the country was artificially put together (assembled) by the British from 3 provinces of the falling Ottoman Empire (Sunni Baghdad, Shia Basra and Kurdish Mosul).

In Sunni Libya, the revolution, inspired by the revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, was absolute. Everyone was fighting against Gaddafi, but not sure sure what they were fighting for as the author puts it. Gaddafi is a figure we all remember, and his foreign policy can be easily summed up as “if you were an enemy of the western interests, you were a friend of Gaddafis and money flowed in freely for your cause”. Danahar tells the reader of his personal meeting with the Colonel. After the western Airstrikes and the civil war, Gaddafi´s ousting and the elections, the country has been struggling in rebuilding itself…

Finally the last chapter of the book is devoted to the sad and violent events ongoing in Syria as we speak. A country with a Sunni majority, but with Alawites (a branch of Shia Islam) as the largest religious minority, with also some Christians, and Kurds and Palestinian Refugees. Syria case seems like a never ending civil war. Shockingly it has been left on its own by the west, and over 100.000 people have already been killed, as we have witnessed through social media, despite all attempts by the regime not to broadcast the facts. US doesn’t want Assad to win, but doesn’t support the poorly organized opposition (backed by Qatar) enough to make this happen. The west is cautious of the fact that if the Assad regime would collapse overnight, it would open the capital up to ISIS. In fact, the Syrian Civil war and the shipment of money and weapons (by US allies) has accelerated the rise of ISIS, which on the other hand has publicly stated that it wants Syria to be wiped off the map by demolishing the borders implemented by the Sykes Picot agreement at the end of World War I. Ironic it is too, that ISIS is fighting on American vehicles, arms and ammunition, which had been recently given to Iraq and then lost to ISIS.

All in all, it can be said that religious nationalism and political Islam are the forces that continue shaping the Middle East. Power struggle between the Shia and the Sunni continues, and the recently “proclaimed” Islamic State poses a serious threat to the region and to the world. Israeli Palestine conflict continues. Civil War continues in Syria, Egypt is in a chaos, Iran is opening up, Iraq is still in a turmoil, Northern Africa is stabilizing little by little, Gulf states try to hang on. Oil prices will also largely influence what will happen in the region. The Arab Spring started the change process in the region, but it is evident that the change is not yet over, and the region is struggling to rebuild itself. Let us wait and see what happens next.

Thanks @pdanahar for sharing your experience and your views and for a highly informative and interesting book. This was a fascinating and an outstanding piece of work with a very wide scope, and recommendable to anyone with interest in the Middle East history and current events.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched book by someone with an intimate, personal knowledge of the region. Definitely a 'must read' for someone wanting a solid introduction to recent history in the modern Mid East.

My only criticism is that Danahar does not attempt to hide his disgust for the Bush administration and it makes him seem rather un-academic. His complaints against neocons, however, are well founded.

[Atheer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Its narrative is easy to follow and Danahar's research in this field as well as his first hand observations are clearly evident throughout the book.
Its very information packed and does a good job of explaining the different impacts the uprisings have had in the region. Danahar covers five nations in depth; Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Iraq and Syria. He also covers the Israeli-Palestinain conflict, of which there is an interesting chapter about its complicated communities.

The struggle between secularism and religious identity is also touched upon. Raising questions to whether societies are able to reflect everyones beliefs whilst also keeping the country stable. And if zionism and political islam have a place in shaping the Middle East? "Men drew the lines that formed the old Middle East. God will shape the new one."

This book is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in the Arab Spring and how its aftermath has shaped its region.
(Also, since this book was released late 2013 it does not cover a lot of recent affairs, however a new updated edition is coming out on 16th July 2015!!)

[Lorie Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting account of the revolutions that have occurred in the Middle East and their cause. I learned a lot.

[Yash Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.

- Mahatma Gandhi





The New Middle East, the world after the Arab spring tells us about the past, present and the future of the region which not only gave birth to the most dreaded terrorist organization the world has ever seen i.e The Islamic state of Iraq and Levant ( ISIL ), but it is the same region that also gave birth to the three monotheistic religions of the world i.e Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
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The author himself travelled to all these places of the middle East where the revolution started i.e Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and he also covered Iraq, Israel and Palestine, and after doing a lots of research and intensive ground reporting from the front line, he presented this brilliant and enlightening book to us.
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The revolution which was started in Tunisia in the year 2011, slowly and steadily spread throughout the region, and the dictators who ruled these countries once, started to crumble down one by one, like Ben Ali of Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Gaddafi of Libya and Saddam Hussein of Iraq. But one dictator survived this revolution, and he is none other than the incumbent president of Syria, Bashar al asad, who brutally butchered his own people, and the reason because of which his regime survived is the support which he received from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.
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The Author also talked about the Israel and Palestine issue very well, and how the society in israel is itself divided on the issue of the role of religion in their life, and the discrimination which the people of Gaza and West Bank are facing.
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The Author also exposed the hypocrite policy of the USA and other European Powers, and the power struggle between Saudis and gulf States on one side and the Iranians on the other, to increase their influence on this region. And because of this power struggle the entire region is unstable and full of chaos.
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My Ratings : 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 ( 5/5 )

I hope you like the Review, thanks for reading, Jai Hind.

For more information related to books you can also visit my website - https://dontbignorant.in/

Table of contents -
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1. The collapse of the old Middle East

2. Egypt's long war
* The battle begins
* Revolution

3. The problem

4. Israel : It's complicated

5. America's pillars of sand

6. Iraq : SNAFU

7. Libya : Year zero

8. Syria : The Arab's world broken heart

[Warren Blore · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest it took me a long time to get past the introduction. Once I did though it turned into an excellent read which added a lot to my appreciation for what went on and is still going on in Egypt, Libya, Syria and across the Arab world. I thoroughly recommend even if it does occasionally descend into "colonialists ruined everything and no one who lives in the region needs to take any responsibility for perpetuating their conflict". Very good read and a very easy read. Thanks to the author for bringing a complex story to life.

[E.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 Seems to stay true to facts but has the typical left-liberal blind spot towards Islamism (and Caliphism) in interpretations and opinions.

[Dinesh Krithivasan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Danahar was the Bureau chief for the Middle East for BBC during the Arab Spring and as such, had a front row seat for the events of the Arab Spring that swept through that region during the early 2010s. This is a wonderful account of the events of those uprisings set in the larger historical context of that region. The chapters on Egypt and Iraq were especially eye-opening - the former is where the movement really caught fire while the Bush administration's ineptness in the latter theater has substantially added to the already significant troubles that the region was grappling with. Danahar writes with a journalist's skill and flair - the chapters are engrossing and fast moving. For the most part, he writes with a journalist's detachment as well without taking sides. This slips towards the end of the book when he discusses Syria and he can't quite hide his disgust (nor should he) for the apathy of the Western world to the unfolding humanitarian crisis. The Obama administration comes in for quite a bit of flak here as well and it was interesting to me that such valid criticisms of Obama's foreign policy as Danahar raises here simply get drowned out in the American media amidst the mindless inanities that make up their 24 hour news cycle. Obama salutes a marine with a coffee cup in hand, Fox plays it in a never-ending loop, media on the left jump in to defend Obama, everyone shouts past each other and meanwhile, a thousand children die in Syria at the hands of their own government.

I wish the book would have covered a couple of other areas in greater depth - for example, more historical background on the entire region (disintegration of the Ottoman empire, British/French mandates etc.) and how it ties to the present conflicts and more coverage on Lebanon/Hezbollah to better understand how Iran (as the dominant Shia power) fits into all this. The emphasis on the Haredim in Israel was also mildly puzzling (they don't take up all that much column inches in Israel related news) but I will gladly defer to Danahar's expertise here.

Danahar leaves us with the warning that while the 20th century conflicts in the Middle East were about land, those of the 21st century would be about God. The conflicts of the past already put a religious sheen on everything and deepened fanaticism/sectarianism in the region. With religion being the driving force of the inevitable future conflicts, I shudder to think what awaits these lands. It looks like there is no break from this cycle of violence till the world moves to an alternate source of energy and the petro-dollars dry up. But then again, everyone thought the status quo was here to stay until a disgruntled fruit vendor in Tunisia set himself on fire and ignited the Arab world. I hope that his sacrifice and that of a million others like him won't be in vain.

[Sorrento · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Paul Danahar’s book I learned a lot about the political and religious conflicts that have raged in the middle east since the Arab Spring began in 2011. Many of these conflicts have their origins many years before that. The thirst of the West for oil and disastrous meddling by colonial and post-colonial powers, & cold war rivalries all play their part.
I was particularly struck about how relatively stable Tunisia has become which seems to the only beacon of hope in this troubled region. In the chapter “Israel- Its Complicated” I was surprised to learn about the ultra-orthodox Haredi community’s male population who do not work but spend their days studying the bible at the state’s expense & how their growing numbers are beginning to be resented within Israel.
The final chapter concerns the continuing tragic situation in Syria & gives an account of the involvement of the many different local, regional and international players. I was surprised that the book did not give a greater account of the more recent involvement by Russia in this conflict, but this maybe too recent a development to be covered by this revised edition published in 2015.

[Hurayrah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best arab/politics book I've ever read. Seriously. Even if the title hints that the book is about the Arab spring, there is background information about the formation of all the now known Arab countries as well as all the creation of several of the different suppressive parties involved in the repression and neglection of the arab middle class in these Arab countries.

This book also talks about the role Russia, china, turkey, Iran and Lebanon plays in Syria. All the struggles that are equally shared by the West and East go back to the European/ french colonization. It also talks about Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Palestine-Israel and about the US being involved in Iraq.

This book is amazing and it will completely clear any misunderstanding regarding the Arab spring.
I recommend this book to everyone wanting to inquire legit knowledge of the Arab world.

[Betty Ho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Danahar is an articulate story-teller. Instead of feeding his readers with a dry regurgitation of facts, he selects only the stories that make his book interesting, relevant and memorable. His first-hand experience on the Iraq War and the civil wars in Libya/ Syria as BBC Middle East Bureau Chief also spiced up the book. This book focuses on the aftermaths of Arab Spring in Egypt, Libya and Syria; the Iraq war and Israeli-Palestinian conflict which shaped Obama's Middle East policy, and thus, the New Middle East.

[Antony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good account (including first hand observations) of recent political upheavals of the Middle East. Loses one star for predicting the demise of the Egyptian military and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in a book that appears to have been published just weeks prior to General el-Sisi taking charge! The chapter on Libya is the most fascinating, including Danahar's interaction with Gaddafi.

[Matt E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read years ago, never added to goodreads. It was a formative read for me at the time.

One of the best books about the Arab Spring, and the calamities/opportunities the Middle East at the time faced (unfortunately, much of which, has only worsened since 2017).

Books written about the Middle East by people in the West often lack humanity - but this book is filled with it, worth the read even though dated today.

[Vivek Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

If one wants an overall perspective of the Middle East before and after the Arab Spring, he/she has selected the right book. It gives an unbiased view of the events and the role of the stakeholders in the events. Paul Danhar leaves you speechless with the description of some of the events and you are bound to set the book aside and reflect for a while.

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although covering an important and timely topic and included interesting anecdotes and facts, I found the author’s prose strikingly hard to follow. Any paragraph is well written, but the book bounces around between topics and periods and appeared to contain no discernible argument of overarching narrative that ties the locations, events, or observations together.

[Rosie Waite · Rating 1 out of 5]

A poorly written book that skims the surface but doesn’t give any great insight. Ok if you don’t really know the subject matter, but as someone with roots in the Middle East, I found it simplistic and superficial.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone wanting to understand the Arab Spring, it's origin and consequences. Clearly, concisely and compellingly written it is the best book on any topic I have read in a long time.

[Mark Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book, this. Provides historical context & utter clarity where the news has failed so frequently.

[Rana Habib · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 10/10, top 10 of 2023
Duration: 11 days

If you're seeking a comprehensive and unbiased understanding of the current state of the Middle East and the events that have led to the complexities of the region today, I strongly recommend reading "The New Middle East" by Paul Danahar

Danahar was the BBC's Middle East Bureau Chief from 2010 to 2013, where he ran the news coverage for the Arab Spring. Between a mixture of his own experience while working in the Middle East and legitimate facts, Danahar writes about the lasting impact of the Arab Spring within the region.

The Arab Spring, a wave of revolutions spread throughout the entire region, started in Tunisia in December 2010. Most notably, the people of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain took to the streets with protests, fighting to overthrow longstanding dictators, tyrants, and regimes. In their fight for democracy, countries like Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt successfully overthrew corrupt leaders like Ben Ali, Gaddafi, and Mubarak. However, countries like Syria and Libya (despite Libya's success in removing Gaddafi) slid into civil wars, which has resulted in one of the largest refugee crises in history.

Danahar begins the book by discussing the "old Middle East", explaining the geopolitics, alliances, and power scales of the region prior to 2010. With that said, there is a lot of discussion about the West's involvement in the Middle East, which helped ignite the revolution (for better or for worse) and contributed to the creation of some of the extremist groups we see today.

Danahar then goes on to discuss the history of Egypt, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, America's interference in the region, Israel's own internal conflict, Iraq, Libya, and finally, the civil war in Syria.

Although the book itself is an easy read, it is approximately 450 pages long, which might not make it suitable for novice readers (unless you are genuinely curious about the subject). I'd personally recommend reading Black Wave by Kim Ghattas first, which is somewhat similar and about 200 pages shorter.

[Mark Yang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm overwhelmed by how informative this book is. It provided Danahar's personal views on what and why went on wrong in the middle east.
In the west, people have a unilateral mindset that giving a country democracy means giving a country prosperity and a way ahead. To achieve this, western world has intervened heavily on what we know as Arab Spring. But the implication of the resurgences is much more complicated than anyone would imagined. A 'fair' election had not brought Egypt or Iraq what people lost their precious lives fighting for. It was maybe a bad idea for Arab countries to follow suit witnessing the 'successful' story in Tunisia given the total different dynamic and nature among them. Deaths after deaths, battles after battles, coups and coups, we would never know when middle east can come to the world stage as a peaceful 'new middle east' we all hoped it to be.
In the book's final pages, Danahar imagined a future with Egypt adopting the 'Indian model' where also has a diversity of ethnicities and religious but managed to establish their democracy system after a devastating British rule. But it might never happen. It might happen if the armed forces reduced by half. It might happen if the secularists, Islamists from all sects, Christians and all other minorities can regard others as equal. Only until then, might we all see the light after the long darkness.
Maybe it's also the time for anyone of us outside middle east to change our ways of thinking and make some good impact.

[ชาครีย์นรทิพย์ คนช่างฝัน · Rating 4 out of 5]

The New Middle East: The World After the Arab Spring by Paul Danahar

A comprehensive, in-depth and meticulous account of the events in the Middle East, leading up to, and after the ‘Arab Spring.’

The readers greatly benefit fromPaul Danahar’s experiences as the BBC Middle Eastern bureau chief, during which time he had the chance to be on the ground, and met with many of the main players in the region. The book covers different aspects of the Middle East, from the collapse of the old Middle East, the situation in Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Syria to the stance of Israel and the US.

The Arab Spring was ushered in across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s with much hope, but a decade on there are vastly differing results in different countries, full of tales of pain, sacrifice, heartaches and disappointment.

[Ajith Kamath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delving into the past and the current political struggles for power of the ever complex politics of the Middle East was an eye opener There is definitely a wrong assumption about the Middle East created by a few elements who happen to have weilded power who eventually influenced the lives of the common people. This book explains clearly that when Religion and Politics go together as a single entity then civilization as a whole takes a step backward. And the surprising part of this book is how in detail Israel and it's various societies are covered. I for one was surprised reading and understanding the various social fabric of Israel. For some one who's interested in understanding the political implications that the Middle East has had this book is a must read!!

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in 9th grade and in the city of Sohar, Oman when the Arab Spring, arrived in the country of Oman. All I remember was that the iconic Globe Roundabout had become a common ground for the protests and the landmark Lulu Hypermarket had been burnt to a crisp. There were helicopters everywhere flying above us. I didn't understand at the time, did not know what Arab Spring, as the news channels called it, was about. This book gave me an insight into a subject I had always been curious about and made me realise the gravity of the situation I had witnessed (or at least a small part of it that I had witnessed) . I would highly recommend it. Well researched and well written !

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating sweep through the various revolutions of the region, their causes, their effects and a real insight into how events might unfold in the coming years. It's easy to read, packed full of detail from all angles and made real with his personal experiences in each of the countries, I can totally recommend this to anybody trying to understand what's behind today's headlines.

[Deepanshu Aggarwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very detailed and comprehensive book on geopolitics and the Middle East. Covers the major events in the region around the birthplace of Islam, from the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 to the Arab Spring in 2011. In doing so, it also brings into focus the historical context and the future implications of the said events. A must read book!

[Heli · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a book full of stories about the Arab Spring in most of the regions involved. It gives a good overview of how things happened and turned out to be. The timeline of many stories is a bit scrambled and there is little analysis. It's a nice past time read, but not a systemic thought.

[Joshua Coombes · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth history into the middle Eastern countries and how politically they have been changed through civil wars or through dictators being overthrown. A great way to learn about the complexities of religion not often reported in the mass media.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in The Middle East region, I highly recommend you to read this. This book gives precise perspectives about middle east. I am so amazed by the facts, the politics, and the stories of people who are living there. This book really enlighten me about the region.

[AB Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m always interested in the geopolitical reverberations that emanate from the Middle East. This guy was on the ground. I learned a ton. Worthy read.

4 stars. Exceptionally informative. History and analysis all in one.

[Mollyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and interesting to see the commentary from this time. As the politics in the Middle East have changed rapidly the book has dated a little, however.