Patrick Kingsley: “Revolutions Swept the Middle East in 2011. Will Syria’s End Differently?”

“Mr. al-Assad’s stunning fall finally allows Syrians to feel the joy that their counterparts experienced more than a decade ago in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen — the four Arab countries where dictators were toppled far more quickly. Yet while those four states provided a template for revolutionary success, their trajectories since the Arab Spring…

Suzanne Hyde & Chloe Peacock: “Rewriting the riots, from 2011 to today”

“The meanings that come to settle around these riots will be powerful in shaping and justifying the politics of this Labour administration. As in 2011, the days and weeks following riots are crucially important in setting the scene for the political agendas that follow. The government now needs to set out its longer-term policy responses…

Omar Zahzah : “A New Generation of Palestinian Organizers Has Arisen From the Ashes of the Oslo Accords”

“Indeed, from Sheikh Jarrah to Gaza to hunger-striking Palestinians within regime jails, Palestinians have risen up in collective resistance, showing that we will not accept the fragmentation of Oslo and that resistance is our duty wherever we find ourselves. The revolution will be refuted no longer.”

“Nicaragua Descends Into Autocratic Rule as Ortega Crushes Dissent”

“Daniel Ortega became a hero in Nicaragua for helping overthrow a notorious dictator. Now, 40 years later, he has become the kind of authoritarian leader he once fought against.  After methodically choking off competition and dissent, Mr. Ortega has all but ensured his victory in presidential elections on Sunday, representing a turn toward an openly…