Beginning in Tunisia, and spreading to as many as seventeen Arab countries, the street protests of the 'Arab Spring' in 2011 empowered citizens and banished their fear of speaking out against governments. The Arab Spring belied Arab exceptionalism, widely assumed to be the natural state of stagnation in the Arab world amid global change and progress. The collapse in February 2011 of the regime in the region's most populous country, Egypt, led to key questions of why, how, and with what consequences did this occur? Inspired by the "contentious politics" school and Social Movement TheoryThe Arab Spring addresses these issues, examining the reasons behind the collapse of Egypt's authoritarian regime; analyzing the group dynamics in Tahrir Square of various factions: labor, youth, Islamists, and women; describing economic and external issues and comparing Egypt's transition with that of Indonesia; and reflecting on the challenges of transition.

Beginning in Tunisia, and spreading to as many as seventeen Arab countries, the street protests of the 'Arab Spring' in 2011 empowered citizens and banished their fear of speaking out against governments. The Arab Spring belied Arab exceptionalism, widely assumed to be the natural state of stagnation in the Arab world amid global change and progress. The collapse in February 2011 of the regime in the region's most populous country, Egypt, led to key questions of why, how, and with what consequences did this occur? Inspired by the "contentious politics" school and Social Movement Theory Arab Spring in Egypt addresses these issues, examining the reasons behind the collapse of Egypt's authoritarian regime; analyzing the group dynamics in Tahrir Square of various factions: labor, youth, Islamists, and women; describing economic and external issues and comparing Egypt's transition with that of Indonesia; and reflecting on the challenges of transition.

IntroductionBahgat Korany and Rabab El-MahdiChapter One: The Protesting Middle EastBahgat Korany and Rabab El-MahdiPart One: Authoritarianism: How Persistent?Chapter Two: Concentrated Power Breeds Corruption, Repression and ResistanceAnn LeschChapter Three: The Political Economy of Mubarak's FallSamer SolimanChapter Four: Dynamics of a Stagnant Religious Discourse and the Rise of New Secular Movements in EgyptNadine SikaPart Two: Group Dynamics in the Tahrir SquareChapter Five: Working Class Power in Egypt's 2011 Uprising?Dina BisharaChapter Six: Youth Movements and the January 25 RevolutionDina ShehataChapter Seven: Islamism In and After Egypt's RevolutionIbrahim Al-HoudaibyChapter Eight: Women are Also Part of This RevolutionHania SholkamyChapter Nine: Back on Horse? The Military between Two RevolutionsHazem KandilPart Three: Beyond the ImmediateChapter Ten: Egypt's Civic Revolution Turns "Democracy Promotion" on Its HeadSheila CarapicoChapter Eleven: Democratization and Constitutional Reform in Egypt and Indonesia: Evaluating the Role of the MilitaryJaved Maswood & Usha TarajanChapter Twelve: Authoritarian Transformation or Transition from Authoritarianism? Insights on Regime Change in EgyptHolger AlbrechtPart Four: Looking AheadChapter Thirteen: The Arab Spring, the New Pan-Arabism and the Challenges of TransitionBahgat Korany