The New Arab World

There is no going back. Recent months have severed the future from past precedent and brought about a fundamental shift in the Arab paradigm. This month Executive examines some of the numerous facets of the historic events sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. Among the roots of the populist revolts are the economic reforms many MENA countries undertook to produced headline-grabbing growth and vast fortunes for the well-connected elite, while the poor and middle classes, left exposed to inflation, became ever more familiar with layoffs as privatized state institutions streamlined [see comment Upheaval and institutional capital]. Tunisia, having been the first to fall, is the forerunner navigating the amorphous uncertainty that comes with rebuilding nations. A month and a half after the euphoria of ousting President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali from power, young Tunisians were returning to the streets demanding to see that the social inequities they rose up