Arab Spring Topics

Democracy Now! is following the popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa.

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  • Sharif_morsy

    Sharif Abdel Kouddous: Historic Egypt Election Outweighed by Continued Dominance of Military Rule

    Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi has become Egypt’s first-ever democratically elected president after beating out former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik. Despite his historic victory, Morsi will face major challenges under Egypt’s ruling military council. The council recently issued new restrictions on the incoming president’s authority and will retain control of Egypt’s budget and legislation. "This has been a...
    Jun 26, 2012 | Story
  • Syria_guns2

    Back from Syria, Reporter David Enders Says Assad Regime Crumbling to "Grassroots Rebellion"

    As the battle for Damascus rages on, we’re joined by reporter David Enders, special correspondent for McClatchy, based in Beirut, Lebanon. He has been to Syria four times this year, most recently in June, and is returning there shortly. "The [Syrian] government [is] crumbling under the weight of a massive rebellion. It simply can’t put it down," Enders says. "Without the aid of the international community, Syrians are...
    Jul 19, 2012 | Story
  • Assad_book

    Assad Biographer: After Initial Hopes of Reform, Syrian Ruler Has Succumbed to Delusions of Power

    In the wake of Wednesday’s bomb blast that killed top Syrian officials, we continue our Syria coverage with David Lesch, author of the biography, "The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Asad and Modern Syria," as well as the forthcoming book, "Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad." Lesch is a professor of Middle East history at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. "[Assad is] someone, I think, who started out...
    Jul 19, 2012 | Story
  • Syrian_activist

    Syrian Activist in Hiding: "We're Not Looking for Intervention, We're Looking for Support"

    Syria’s 16-month uprising has entered uncharted territory after Wednesday’s bombing that killed three members of President Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle, including his defense secretary, interior minister and brother-in-law. Fighting between government troops and opposition rebels has been reported across Damascus, including locations within sight of the presidential palace. We’re joined from Syria by an activist who requested...
    Jul 19, 2012 | Story
  • Syria-refugees

    Report from Turkey-Syria Border: Syrian Refugees Claim "Horrific Carnage" in Besieged Aleppo

    Several neighborhoods have reportedly been reduced to rubble as the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wages a massive ground assault to retake control of Aleppo. According to activists, more than 20,000 people, mostly unarmed civilians, have died in the last 17 months of fighting, and tens of thousands have fled the country. On Thursday, almost 2,000 people reached neighboring Turkey as refugee flows continue to rise. About a quarter...
    Aug 10, 2012 | Story
  • Muhamed_mursi-egypt

    Egypt's Morsi Ousts Top Generals, But Key Military Insiders Tapped to Fill the Gaps

    In a major shakeup, Egypt’s new president, Mohamed Morsi, dismissed the country’s two top generals over the weekend, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and military Chief of Staff Sami Enan. Morsi also quashed the army’s recent constitutional declaration that had curbed the new leader’s powers. "What’s, I think, most important to realize is that all of the new appointments came from within the Supreme Council of the Armed...
    Aug 14, 2012 | Story
  • Sharif_abdel_kouddous

    Sharif Abdel Kouddous on Zabadani, a Syrian Town Under Siege with No End in Sight

    Sharif Abdel Kouddous reports on his recent trip to Zabadani, a besieged Syrian town near the Lebanon border. "[Zabadani] is basically waiting for some kind of solution to happen and is yet really on the receiving end of the majority of the violence," says Kouddous, whose latest article, "On the Ground in Zabadani, a Syrian Town in Revolt," was published in The Nation on Monday. [includes rush transcript]
    Aug 14, 2012 | Story
  • Omar_dahi-syria

    Scholar Omar Dahi on the Economic and Human Toll of Syria's Worsening Refugee Crisis

    The escalating conflict in Syria has magnified the refugee crisis, both internally and in neighboring countries. More than 4,000 people entered Turkey in recent days, bringing the total number of Syrian refugees there close to 60,000. There are tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in neighboring Lebanon as well. As the crisis deepens, we’re joined by Omar Dahi, assistant professor of economics at Hampshire College. Born and raised in Syria,...
    Aug 14, 2012 | Story
  • Tariq_ramadan

    Islamic Scholar Tariq Ramadan on the Growing Mideast Protests and "Islam & the Arab Awakening"

    As anti-U.S. protests spread across the Middle East, we’re joined by Tariq Ramadan, professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University and visiting professor at the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Qatar. Ramadan is considered one of the most prominent Muslim intellectuals in Europe and was named by Time magazine as one of the most important innovators of the 21st century. He was barred from entering the United States for many years...
    Sep 13, 2012 | Story
  • Chompsky

    Who Owns the World? Noam Chomsky on U.S.-Fueled Dangers, from Climate Change to Nuclear Weapons

    In the week when President Obama and Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney debated issues of foreign policy and the economy, we turn to world-renowned political dissident, linguist, author and MIT professor, Noam Chomsky. In a recent speech, Chomsky examined topics largely ignored or glossed over during the campaign: China, the Arab Spring, global warming, nuclear proliferation, and the military threat posed by Israel and the U.S. versus...
    Oct 26, 2012 | Story