ABSTRACT

States such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia, where the ethno-religious complexities threaten to crush the state, have merited the title “failed states.” Their weak central governments have turned them into attractive arenas of activity for al-Qa’ida and other radical organizations. Following the onset of the 2011 Arab uprisings, some Arab states are seen as newcomers to the “failed states’ club.” With regimes having lost authority outside the main cities, states such as Yemen, Syria and, to some extent, Libya, have become fitting arenas for the ideological and organizational efforts of non-state actors. This presentation was an analysis of how contemporary domestic politics in the region were part and parcel of the Sunni-Shi’i, Sunni-Alawi, Arab-Kurdish, and Arab-Persian tensions that are in play across the changing Middle East. Shedding light on the “Arab Spring” events that led to the downfall of dictators or “iron-fisted rulers,” the presentation focused on the domestic political and economic challenges that these states face in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.