How has Arab Spring shaped MENA countries?

Amelia Smith, a London-based journalist who specializes in Middle Eastern culture and art, has collected several writings about the so-called Arab Spring, five years after it started in Tunisia before rapidly spreading to Libya, Egypt, Yemen and several other Arab countries and causing a deadly war in Syria. The book might be interesting for those who are seeking an answer as to why the region is in trouble, why these conflicts and wars have begun and how the peaceful protests have evolved into deadly wars.

The articles have been published in a book by Middle East Monitor Publisher (MEMO), edited by Smith and titled, "The Arab Spring Five Years On." The book includes 12 articles from 10 different writers, each of whom has focused on another country under a specific topic, including the Palestinian issue, the reactions of international powers like the U.K. and Russia to the massive movements and role of women during the regime changes in certain Arab countries. Although the writings are semi-academic, the book deserves to take its place on library shelves to remind people why the peoples of several Arab countries have rebelled against the despotic regimes as contemporary situation has already made people forget why people have been fighting in Syria, why Russia has occupied Syria, how terror groups have emerged in Syria, why Saudi Arabia has been pounding Yemen and why there are deadly clashes in Libya. On the back page of the book, a piece of text introducing the book says that it deals with the questions of why people in power overcame despots in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen but were met with fierce resistance in Syria, why the U.K. sided with people in Libya but supported the government in Bahrain and why the Arab Spring failed to reach Palestine.

The book starts with an introduction written by Ramzy Baroud who gives a summary of what happened in the region during and after the Arab Spring. He discusses the reasons and consequences of the mass protests as well as the reactions of governments and regimes of less-affected countries. He admits to the complicated structure of Arab countries, stating that the reasons and demands differ in each one and, therefore, names his article, "The Elusive Arab Spring." In the second article, Philip Leech, discusses the U.K.'s stance during the Arab Spring and concludes that Westminster would like to see weak but stable countries in the region and therefore has supported the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya while has ignored the demands of the protesters in Bahrain. In the third and one of the most interesting articles of the book, Christine Petre seeks answer for the question of how post-revolution Tunisia has become center for recruiting militants to send to the radical groups like Daish and al-Qaida. She claims that the revolution has not brought prosperity to the ordinary people and the chaos in Libya has effects on the tiny Tunisia. Smith, the editor of the book, focuses on such a specific and interesting issue about Egypt. She investigates the roles of the Al-Azhar and the Coptic Church. Taking into consideration the two institutions' support for the current president, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi who ousted Egypt's first democratically elected president Mohammad Morsi in 2013 after a bloody military coup that claimed lives of thousands, she believes the two religious centers have betrayed to the 2011 revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak, the despotic leader of the country.

In her second article, she shares her experiences she had while living in Egypt and gives clues how it is difficult to live under the Sissi regime, with reference to "torture chambers" as part of ordinary life. She exemplifies this with reference to Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni who was tortured to death by Egyptian police for pursuing a study on Egyptian laborers, showing how the regime uses torture to silence the opposition and to make the people obey the arbitrary administration of the country. Diana Alghoul discussed the role of women during the demonstrations in her article which claims that women's active role points to a revolution within revolutions unfolding. Noting that women's role has varied in different countries, she states that women's passion for prosperity and freedom has become evident. Two articles in the book focused on Palestine while one deals with the question of why the Occupied Palestinian Territories were not involved in the Spring whereas the second article questions Gaza's situation during and after the demonstrations, concluding that the mobilization of Arab peoples has caused tightening of the siege and embargo imposed by Israel on Gaza. Three articles in the book are about the war in Syria. While one of them explains how Syrians rebelled against the despotic regime of Assad in a peaceful way, another one the path to the armed resistance. An article also specifically elaborates on Russia's role in the war and explains Russia's reasons for backing the regime. While an article defines who the Houthis of Yemen are and what they demand, another article explains why the international powers decided to launch a military operation in Libya and what its consequences were.

When considering the length of the book, it is understandable that it is impossible to cover everything about the Arab Spring, which has several aspects to it. However, it would have improved the book to include three more articles about the roles of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran which are the main regional actors and have been directly involved in conflicts in the region.