[PHOTO] Enameled elephant, shopAGO

Enameled elephant, shopAGO
Originally uploaded by randyfmcdonald

A tie-in with the Art Gallery of Ontario's Maharaja expedition of South Asian courtly arts, this enameled elephant had a pleasant charm to it.

[LINK] "Olivier Roy on Middle East Social Movements"

The Global Sociology Blog introduces its readers to the essential thinking of European sociologist and Middle Eastern area specialist Olivier Roy, translating and abstracting an interview in French with said Roy. His take on the ongoing revolutions is worthwhile indeed.

First of all, what we have seen so far are not revolutions but protest movements involving the same kinds of social actors in the Arab world and beyond: protesters are young, educated, connected (through mobile phones, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) even though Internet penetration rates are still not great in these societies. They are sociologically modern in terms of family structures, education and ideas. They are more individualist, believe in democracy. They are the ones who started these movements, then joined by older generations.

These protests are against old and tired corrupt regimes that have been captured by authoritarian leaders and their families or inner circles, and have stagnated for the past 30 years. So, it is a fed-up generation that rejects what have been the dominant ideologies in the Arab world in the post-War period: Islamism (political Islam), nationalism or Arabic socialism.

These movements are popping up all over the Middle East because of the similarities across countries: authoritarian regimes that have been in place for a long time, without major evolution. Beyond the shallow differences (monarchy in Morocco, authoritarianism in other places and family rule in Morocco, Syria or Jordan where each leader is succeeded by his son), there has been little diversity in governance.

So, politically, there are few differences. Sociologically, this is a different story. In Yemen and Jordan, the tribes still exercise power, whereas they are of little importance in North Africa or Egypt. Structures of power have developed over these sociological differences in order for the rulers to keep themselves in power.

What makes repression worse is when the protest movements in favor of democracy are based on ethnic (Iraq), denominational (Bahrain), or tribal divisions. For example, in Bahrain, the Sunni elite, supported by Saudi Arabia, dominates a numerically larger shiite population. In that case, more brutality from the rulers can be expected as full democracy would probably cost them their regime. But that is why the protesters in Bahrain have emphasized their nationality first, using the national flag, rather than their shia identity (they are not particularly pro-Iran). But that is something that the Sunni elite from the Persian Gulf do not want to hear.

It is not entirely clear why things are exploding now since these regimes have not changed over the past 20 years. There is certainly the global economy but Roy also sees a generational phenomenon. This is the coming of age of a generation born in crisis but who has never considered Islamism as solution to all social problems (as Islamism is seen as one of these discredited ideology). And then, there is population growth. The protesters come from a baby boom, a population peak, with lower fertility levels after them. In this sense, one can draw some comparisons with May 1968 in France.

Go, read.

[LINK] "Google Maps Mashup Documents Libyan Protests"

Miracle, meet wonder; wonder, miracle.

Iranian Twitter activist Arasmus has created a Google Maps mashup to document protesters’ Twitter reports during the Libyan anti-government uprising.

Last week, violent protests surged throughout the north African country of Libya, as protesters clashed with security forces in an attempt to end Moammar Gadhafi’s 42-year rule. Gadhafi has responded with far more violence than any of the other embattled Mideast autocracies. Human Rights Watch has tallied at least 233 protester deaths from regime security forces so far; Al Jazeera is reporting that another 250 have been killed on Monday alone. Despite a media blackout, reports are emerging on Al Jazeera and elsewhere that fighter jets and helicopters are attacking demonstrators in Tripoli and Benghazi.

Like similar uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt — which are said to have inspired the people of Libya — the internet and social media have played their roles in the unrest. Websites like Facebook, Twitter and news provider Al Jazeera have been intermittently blocked, and on Feb. 18 internet access in the country was blocked entirely. Six hours later, the web was mostly back.

Protesters in the country are now taking full advantage of their restored connectivity by posting reports and accounts on Twitter. Arasmus takes the most pertinent, and trustworthy, reports and places them on a Google Map on the country. So far, the map shows reported gunfire, killings, mercenary sightings, helicopter slayings and electricity disconnections.

The map isn’t dynamically generated from Twitter reports, but that’s for safety reasons rather than technical ones, says Arasmus. “The danger of an automatic map is that you will reveal too much information too soon and put protesters in danger,” he said on his Twitter account.