By Max Lu
The lecture delivered by Mark Lynch on the Arab uprising was absolutely fascinating because he provided an entirely different perspective from the mainstream media.
He talked at length about the historical context surrounding the Arab uprising, specifically how the underlying conditions for protest have existed for several decade. Based on this, he argued that the term “Arab Spring” that has been in common usage is actually inaccurate. Furthermore, he says that more protests will erupt in the future because none of the underlying problems have actually been addressed.
He also talked at length about the role of technology in protests. He analyzed the role that Al Jazeera originally had on the Arab public, and the role it continues to play today. He explained how the proliferation of mobile phones, the Internet, and social media expanded on that trend and substantially government control over the flow of information and the public discourse in the Arab world.
After defining the foundation of the protest, he analyzed individual countries and compared the paths that they took. He first pointed out the extreme similarity between the path taken by Tunisia and Egypt, then explained how no other country took a similar path. He talked about the ongoing situation in Syria and how that is affecting its neighbors, the region, and the operational capability of terrorists.
The final part of his lecture focused on the limited influence of US foreign policy on the situation in the Middle East. He argued that American military intervention in Syria would really have limited influence because the US cannot change many of the fundamental forces interacting on the ground.
He also showed that he was very knowledgeable during the question and answer session, drawing from his firsthand knowledge in the region to analyze questions ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to US relations with Saudi Arabia. Overall, it was an excellent lecture that provided a fresh perspective to an important issue.