About the project
The Arab Spring has led to the fall of the autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and put severe pressure on the regimes in Yemen, Syria and other countries: Even before the outbreak of the Arab Spring the Middle East was in transition.
Old patriarchal structures were crumbling, the population was getting younger, and the democracy deficit was acute. Where is the Middle East heading?
Subprojects
- Bjørn Olav Utvik: A Choice between Piety or Progress? Islamist Developments in Egypt and the GCC countries
- Bård Kårtveit: Being a Coptic Man. Masculinity, gender relations and boundary maintenance among Egyptian Copts
- Jacob Høigilt: Religion and Political Activism among Youth in the West Bank and Gaza after 2007
- Albrecht Hofheinz: Religion and Political Activism among Youth in the West Bank and Gaza after 2007: Social media as a window on political and ideological trends in the Arab world
- Dag Tuastad: State, family and patriarchy: Political implications of changing inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations and marriage patterns
- Tilde Rosmer:The Islamic Movement in Israel: Islamism in the Jewish State
- Rania Maktabi: The Syria Conflict and the Future of Jihadism in the Middle East
- Kai Kverme: Transnational religious networks and Gulf States influence
- Pinar Tank: Turkey´s AKP and the politics of contention
Objectives
The different sub-projects were aimed at illuminating different aspects of the ongoing changes in the region through the two common research-questions:
- Which political and ideological trends find support among the youth?
- Which trends are observable in the civil society?
Blog
Cooperation
This projects consisted of researchers from The University of Oslo, Fafo (Institute for Labour and Social Research) and PRIO (Peace Research Institute Oslo)
Financing
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Duration
The project was established in 2011 and continued until the spring of 2016.
Closing conference
Five Years after the Arab Spring: Political and Ideological Trends.
Time and place: University of Oslo, June 10, 2016.
The conference marked the end of the New Middle East project. Two main topics were addressed at the conference by panels composed of NEWME researchers and leading international Middle East experts.
- The first topic addressed the current status of democracy and political Islam in the Middle East.
- The second addressed political implications of the challenges to patriarchal structures (gender and age hierarchies) in the region.
Publications
Reports 2015-2016
Agents of Change? How Islamist Women Activists in Israel Are Challenging the Status Quo by Tilde Rosmer, UiO
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Kai Kverme, UiO
Broken Walls: Challenges to Patriarchal Authority in the Eyes of Sudanese Social Media Actors by Albrecht Hofheinz, UiO
Clan and Patriarchy in Palestinian Politics by Dag Henrik Tuastad, UIO
Fear and Loathing in East Jerusalem by Jacob Høigilt, PRIO
Female lawyers in Morocco, Lebanon, and Kuwait Speak after 2011 by Rania Maktabi
Game not Over: The Long Arab Spring by Bjørn Olav Utvik, UiO
Jihadism in the Arab World after 2011: Explaining its Expansion by Brynjar Lia
Kurdish Women: Liberation through the Barrel of a Gun? by Pinar Tank, PRIO
Policy Briefs 2015-2016
A Choice between ISIS and Sisi? The Arab World in 2016 by Bjørn Olav Utvik, UiO
Broken Walls: Challenges to Patriarchal Authority in the Eyes of Sudanese Social Media Actors by Albrecht Hofheinz, UiO
Female Lawyers and Reforms in Patriarchal State Laws by Rania Maktabi
Kurdish Female Combatants and the Role of Gender Ideology by Pinar Tank, PRIO
How Palestinian Islamist Women Activists in Israel are Challenging the Status Quo by Tilde Rosmer, UiO
Why East Jerusalem is Breaking Down and How to Improve the Situation by Jacob Høigilt, PRIO
Patriarchal Nationalists, Democratic Clans. The Dynamics of Clan and Nation in Palestinian Politics by Dag Henrik Tuastad, UIO
Reports 2014
Accommodation or Fight for Democracy? Egyptian Islamism after Sisi’s coup by Bjørn Olav Utvik, UiO
Fatah from Below: Neopatriarchy and the Clash of Generations in Palestine by Jacob Høigilt, PRIO
Football riots in Jordan: Remembering the civil war, forgetting democratization by Dag Henrik Tuastad, UiO
The Domestic Repercussions of Turkey’s Syria Policy by Pinar Tank, PRIO
The Split of the Islamic Movement in Israel: Minority Dilemmas in the Jewish State by Tilde Rosmer, UiO
Withdrawal from Taḥrīr? Voices from the social media on the fate of the revolution, the wall of fear, and the role of individual actors in post-coup Egypt by Albrecht Hofheinz, UiO
Policy Briefs 2014
Egyptian Islamism after Sisi’s coup (brief) by Bjørn Olav Utvik, UiO
Football as a barometer of political trends (brief) by Dag Henrik Tuastad, UiO
The Clash of Generations in Palestine (brief) by Jacob Høigilt, PRIO
The Growing Sunni-Alevi divide in Turkey (brief) by Pinar Tank, PRIO
The Split of the Islamic Movement in Israel: Minority Dilemmas in the Jewish State (brief) by Tilde Rosmer, UiO
Withdrawal from Taḥrīr? Voices from the social media on the fate of the revolution (brief) by Albrecht Hofheinz, UiO
Reports 2013
A question of faith? islamists and secularists fight over the post-mubarak state by Bjørn Olav Utvik, UiO
Have the cake and eat it too: Hamas and PLO elections by Dag Henrik Tuastad, UiO
Between Turkey´s AKP and the Gülen movement: Perspectives on the Kurdish peace process by Pinar Tank, PRIO
Rural Revolutionaries: Political Mobilisation of Farmers and Fishermen in the Egyptian Countryside after the 25th of January Uprising by Tor Håkon Tordhol, UiO
Unintentional Democrats – Independent unions in post-Mubarak Egypt by Kristian Takvam Kindt, UiO
The Patriarch, the General and the Doctor: Opposing Visions for the Future of Lebanon by Kai Kverme, UiO
Why is there no third intifada? An analysis of youth activism in the West Bank by Jacob Høigilt, PRIO
#WhyIHateIkhwan Islamist-secular polarisation in Egyptian social media by Albrecht Hofheinz, UiO
Policy Briefs 2013
A question of faith? Islamists and secularists fight over the post-mubarak state (brief by Bjørn Olav Utvik, UiO
Have the cake and eat it too: Hamas and PLO elections (brief) by Dag Henrik Tuastad, UiO
Lessons learned from the non-violent resistance movement in the West Bank (brief) by Jacob Høigilt, PRIO
Turkey´s domestic turmoil and international challenges: What chance is there for a Turkish-Kurdish peace process? (brief) by Pinar Tank, PRIO
#WhyIHateIkhwan Islamist-secular polarisation in Egyptian social media (brief) by Albrecht Hofheinz, UiO
Reports 2012
The Ikhwanisation of the Salafis: Piety in the Politics of Egypt and Kuwait by Bjørn Olav Utvik, UiO
(Un)popular Committees. The Crisis of Representation Within Palestinian Refugee Camps by Dag Henrik Tuastad, UiO
Islamist Student Politics in Israel by Tilde Rosmer, UiO
The AKP’s foreign policy challenges after the Arab Spring by Pinar Tank, PRIO
The Palestinian Spring that Was Not: the Youth and Political Activism in the Occupied Palestinian Territories by Jacob Høigilt, PRIO
Social Media in the ‘Arab Spring’: The Example of Egypt by Albrecht Hofheinz, UiO
Policy Briefs 2012
Islamist Student Politics in Israel (pdf) by Tilde Rosmer, UiO
New Bad Guys or on the Road to Moderation: Salafis in the Post-Revolutionary Politics of Egypt (pdf) by Bjørn Olav Utvik, UiO
Social Media in the ‘Arab Spring’ — the example of Egypt (pdf) by Albrecht Hofheinz, UiO
The Syria Crisis: Challenges to Turkey’s role in the new Middle East (pdf) by Pinar Tank, PRIO
(Un)popular Committees. The Crisis of Representation Within Palestinian Refugee Camps (pdf) by Dag Henrik Tuastad, UiO
Youth and popular protest in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (pdf) by Jacob Høigilt, PRIO
Clan and Patriarchy in Palestinian Politics by Dag Henrik Tuastad, UIO