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The Levant Express: The Arab Uprisings, Human Rights, and the Future of the Middle East
A surprisingly hopeful assessment of the prospects for human rights in the Middle East, and a blueprint for advancing them
The enormous sense of optimism unleashed by the Arab Spring in 2011 soon gave way to widespread suffering and despair. Of the many popular uprisings against autocratic regimes, Tunisia’s now stands alone as a beacon of hope for sustainable human rights progress. Libya is a failed state; Egypt returned to military dictatorship; the Gulf States suppressed popular protests and tightened control; and Syria and Yemen are ravaged by civil war. Challenging the widely shared pessimism among regional experts, Micheline Ishay charts bold and realistic pathways for human rights in a region beset by political repression, economic distress, sectarian conflict, a refugee crisis, and violence against women. With due attention to how patterns of revolution and counterrevolution play out in different societies and historical contexts, Ishay reveals the progressive potential of subterranean human rights forces and offers strategies for transforming current realities in the Middle East.
The enormous sense of optimism unleashed by the Arab Spring in 2011 soon gave way to widespread suffering and despair. Of the many popular uprisings against autocratic regimes, Tunisia’s now stands alone as a beacon of hope for sustainable human rights progress. Libya is a failed state; Egypt returned to military dictatorship; the Gulf States suppressed popular protests and tightened control; and Syria and Yemen are ravaged by civil war. Challenging the widely shared pessimism among regional experts, Micheline Ishay charts bold and realistic pathways for human rights in a region beset by political repression, economic distress, sectarian conflict, a refugee crisis, and violence against women. With due attention to how patterns of revolution and counterrevolution play out in different societies and historical contexts, Ishay reveals the progressive potential of subterranean human rights forces and offers strategies for transforming current realities in the Middle East.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published August 20, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 30, 2022
I was expecting a more narrative driven analysis of the Arab Spring but I was happy with being exposed to such dense political theory unwillingly. The Levant Express is both a metaphorical and real train that represents the advancement of human rights in the MENA and would provide jobs, trade, and confederation to the region (everywhere I look is Atlas Shrugged). The main thesis focuses on 5 freedoms: freedom of speech, of religion, from want, from fear, of sexual/gender equality. I feel more educated after having read it although the last chapter (looking to the future) focuses heavily on Israel/Palestine as if that solution would solve all problems in the middle east. Doubtful.
November 1, 2024
Bought from Yale's book sale not too long ago.
As someone who was too young to truly appreciate the scale and potential of the Arab Spring, reading this brought about a sense of mourning for what could have been for region wide revolution, championing freedoms for all.
Enjoyable political theory, detailing separate ideas and explaining the fistful of challenges that lay in the way of universal human rights or democracy - hell, even stability - in the Middle East & North Africa. The ideas presented as solutions were either acceptable but likely not super impactful (such as a government in exile for states such as Lebanon or Egypt) or entirely reliant on the benevolence of nations and willingness to work together (fully integrating economies between nations and reviving a long lost sense of globalism within the region).
Also presented an smart summary of the problems in future integrations of Israel and Palestine, which the author's hopes likely burned with the ongoing war. Presenting it as a heartbeat of the MENA, where regional cooperation and tension is largely affected by was an interesting idea though. Much food for thought.
As someone who was too young to truly appreciate the scale and potential of the Arab Spring, reading this brought about a sense of mourning for what could have been for region wide revolution, championing freedoms for all.
Enjoyable political theory, detailing separate ideas and explaining the fistful of challenges that lay in the way of universal human rights or democracy - hell, even stability - in the Middle East & North Africa. The ideas presented as solutions were either acceptable but likely not super impactful (such as a government in exile for states such as Lebanon or Egypt) or entirely reliant on the benevolence of nations and willingness to work together (fully integrating economies between nations and reviving a long lost sense of globalism within the region).
Also presented an smart summary of the problems in future integrations of Israel and Palestine, which the author's hopes likely burned with the ongoing war. Presenting it as a heartbeat of the MENA, where regional cooperation and tension is largely affected by was an interesting idea though. Much food for thought.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews