The “Arab uprisings” are far from being homogeneous phenomena. Based on a comparison between “positive cases” (Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria where a “revolutionary situation” has occurred) and a “negative case” (Morocco), we will show that the various developments these countries have known are not encoded in their “DNA”: although environmental elements have helped shaping the interactions between the protagonists involved, the blows exchanged during these 'open-ended conjunctures' contributed to redefine the conditions of the action.

Mounia Bennani-Chraïbi is Professor of Comparative Politics at the Institute of Political, Historical and International Studies of the University of Lausanne (UNIL-IEPHI). Her research examines political behavior, politicization (notably of young city-dwellers), social movements, electoral mobilization, and associative and partisan activism in the MENA region (Middle-East, Northern Africa). Her career is driven by the desire to decompartmentalize research on the MENA region and construct bridges between separate fields of study.