The Middle East Crisis Factory: Why the struggle for democracy will eventually be won

Ten years after the Arab Spring and the subsequent cruelties brought upon the people of the Middle East, Iyad El-Baghdadi and Ahmed Gatnash argue that the region is a third of the way through its transition to democracy

Iraqis celebrate the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime by toppling a statue of him in 2009. Hussein’s dictatorship was used to justify the US-led invasion of Iraq. Picture: Getty

POLITICS

The Middle East Crisis Factory: Tyranny, Resilience and Resistance

By Iyad El-Baghdadi and Ahmed Gatnash

Hurst, €17.41

On December 17, 2010, a Tunisian fruit seller poured paint thinner over his body and set himself on fire.

Earlier that day, police had seized Mohamed Bouazizi’s trading cart, spat in his face and beaten him. When he went to the governor’s office to complain, he was turned away because his face was bleeding. Enraged, he walked ...