Arab Spring, Libyan Winter

Posted on 25 February 2017 by Vijay Prashad

The Arab Spring captivated the planet Mass action overthrew Tunisia s Ben Ali and Egypt s Hosni Mubarak The revolutionary wave spread to the far corners of the Arab world, from Morocco to Bahrain It seemed as if all the authoritarian states would finally be freed, even those of the Arabian Peninsula People s power had produced this wave, and continued to ride it out In Libya, though, the new world order had different ideas Social forces opposed to Muammar Qaddafi had begun to rebel, but they were weak In came the French and the United States, with promises of glory A deal followed with the Saudis, who then sent in their own forces to cut down the Bahraini revolution, and NATO began its assault, ushering in a Libyan Winter that cast its shadow over the Arab Spring This brief, timely analysis situates the assault on Libya in the context of the winds of revolt that swept through the Middle East in the Spring of 2011 Vijay Prashad explores the recent history of the Qaddafi regime, the social forces who opposed him, and the role of the United Nations, NATO, and the rest of the world s superpowers in the bloody civil war that ensued Vijay Prashad is the George and Martha Kellner Chair of South Asian History, and professor and director of international studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut He is the author or editor of over a dozen books, including Karma of Brown Folk and, most recently, The Darker Nations A People s History of the Third World. Read Arab Spring, Libyan Winter – kino-fada.fr 8 10 I complain a lot about nonfiction books that just seem to be padded out magazine articles Arab Spring, Libyan Winter, however, seems to take the better part of such articles their ability to respond immediately to current events, such as the recent tumultuous year in the Middle East and add the kind of detailed analysis that you can only get in monograph form In terms of political non fiction, Prashad manages the best of both worlds.The book s arguments are not anything particular 8 10 I complain a lot about nonfiction books that just seem to be padded out magazine articles Arab Spring, Libyan Winter, however, seems to take the better part of such articles their ability to respond immediately to current events, such as the recent tumultuous year in the Middle East and add the kind of detailed analysis that you can only get in monograph form In terms of political non fiction, Prashad manages the best of both worlds.The book s arguments are not anything particularly novel Prashad compares the popular revolts of the Arab Spring good to the foreign intervention of the Libya...Super readable, clear history of the events leading up to the fall of Gaddafi and the current chaos in Libya Makes strong points about capitalism and empire Compelling without overbearing opinion An interesting read on a long bus trip.While the topic should have made this a gripping read, the lack of any kind of cohesive organization made it a slog at best We find out on the very last page of the book that this is in fact mostly articles spliced together It may have read better as a collection of articles at least then each one would have theoretically had a better sense of chronology As it stands, the first part of the book a look at the events leading up to the Arab Spring is by far the best written After that thi While the topic should have made this a gripping read, the lack of any kind of cohesive organization made it ...This little book is chock full of intricate details about the Arab uprisings and revolutions that began a few short years ago It was especially enlightening to read Prashad s take on Libya, which is not a story that I followed quite as closely as the others Prashad provides readers with almost a play by play of how the revolt in Libya was quickly coopted by the west and contextualises it in terms of the neoliberal agenda and the way it played out in neighbouring Egypt, Tunis, and Syria Althou This little book is chock full of intricate details about the Arab uprisings and revol...Interesting book, poor review is not because I disagree with him But generally unfocused and leavesquestions than answers E.g., the author presents the idea that the civil war could have continued creating greater bloodshed and suffering than a quick NATO victory but then fails to offer an opinion on this or contextualise it within the overall framework of his argument This being a collection of articles is no excuse, that s what editors are for And OH MY GOD the paragraphs, some sprawl Interesting boo...I agree with most of the reviews on this site While on the whole well written and drawing smart conclusions as always, Prashad misses here due to hasty release and not so polished pulling together of article...Although I found some of the author s commentary disagreeable like when he concludes that all we need is a democracy beyond the constraints of neoliberalism , this is as a whole a well informed and well written book on the Arab Spring and the US European interventionist war in Libya Of ...I enjoyed the book and the interesting insights it provides What the book lacks is a coherent overarching narrative, while the book is written in a gripping manner with very interesting asides like little bits on the likes of Amb Frank ...An interesting collection of articles on the Arab Spring and it s fallout This book is before ISIS but after the initial situation Still worth reading for it s perspective at the time and background in the lead up to the Spring.Brilliant and conversational, Prashad s last is poised between academia and political intervention A great critic of neoliberalism and oppression alike as if the two were separate , Prashad deserves to be read Sensitive, dangerous, and elegant.

English
25 February 2017

Vijay Prashad