Abstract

This talk will look at the 2011 uprisings across the Arab world and their aftermath from three main, interlinked perspectives. The first will be the specifically urban aspects of these developments and the dynamic produced through their enactment in an urban setting. The second will be the role of nonviolence in the production of activist publics, shaped by the cityscapes, by the resources available, and by the historical repertoires on which those involved were able to draw. The third will be the performative aspects of power and the role of violence, as well as nonviolence in linking control of the city to control of the state. Finally, an assessment will be made of the problems faced when seeking to translate the momentum of these processes into the forms of enduring institutional power.