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The Categorical Revolution: Democratic Uprising in the Middle East
The protests over the past year across the "Middle East" are perhaps saying that the region first and foremost belongs to its people and that the categories of "oil-rich", "oil-less" and "main route" are at best exciting materials for a historian's archive. While unfolding this "categorical revolution", this article explodes two key myths: (1) that of the terminology of the Middle East, and (2) Islam's incompatibility with democracy.
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the symposium “Democratic Storm in the Muslim World: The Categorical Revolution” at Monash University, on 23 March, 2011. I thank co-panellists Sayed Khatab, Benjamin Macqueen, Salih Yucel and the audience for their reflections. I also wish to thank Kannan Srinivasan and Nida for their thoughtful comments and references. Discussions with John Keane (University of Sydney) and Linda Herrera (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) about the “new” Middle East have been enriching.
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