Geographical Proximity is not Enough: How Culture Shaped Placement, Spatiality, and the Outcomes of the Arab Spring’s Uprising

This paper investigates the phenomenon of the Arab Spring against the background of cultural traditions and attitudes that sustained these protests and carried them across borders of more than twenty countries in the Middle East in a move of cultural contagion of conflict (Gelfand et al. 2012). Tra...

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Main Author: Olesya Venger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Milano University Press 2017-03-01
Series:Glocalism: Journal of Culture, Politics and Innovation
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs-unimi-test.4science.cloud/index.php/glocalism/article/view/21197
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author Olesya Venger
author_facet Olesya Venger
author_sort Olesya Venger
collection DOAJ
description This paper investigates the phenomenon of the Arab Spring against the background of cultural traditions and attitudes that sustained these protests and carried them across borders of more than twenty countries in the Middle East in a move of cultural contagion of conflict (Gelfand et al. 2012). Tracing the placement and spatiality of the Arab Spring uprisings, their media and ideascapes (Appadurai 1990), this paper draws upon theoretical frameworks of Homi Bhabha’s (2004) third space, Margaret Kuhn’s (2003) radical space, and Geert Hofstede’s (2014) cultural indicators. Given the information about self-immolations as the events that stirred the uprisings in the Arab Spring’s countries in 2010-2012, it explores how patterns of contagion of conflict have been operating through specific cultural conditions during successful protests that led to the change of regime as opposed to failed protests that did not. The paper offers a cultural profile of the Arab Spring countries, discussing its implications for the countries’ governance regarding the existence of inter-networked places of protests, significance of their cultural traditions, and their linkage to success or failure of the protests.
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spelling doaj-art-42343ec3d9514b5e89cd4cbee300ff332025-08-20T02:22:40ZengMilano University PressGlocalism: Journal of Culture, Politics and Innovation2283-79492017-03-011Geographical Proximity is not Enough: How Culture Shaped Placement, Spatiality, and the Outcomes of the Arab Spring’s UprisingOlesya Venger0University of Nevada, Las Vegas This paper investigates the phenomenon of the Arab Spring against the background of cultural traditions and attitudes that sustained these protests and carried them across borders of more than twenty countries in the Middle East in a move of cultural contagion of conflict (Gelfand et al. 2012). Tracing the placement and spatiality of the Arab Spring uprisings, their media and ideascapes (Appadurai 1990), this paper draws upon theoretical frameworks of Homi Bhabha’s (2004) third space, Margaret Kuhn’s (2003) radical space, and Geert Hofstede’s (2014) cultural indicators. Given the information about self-immolations as the events that stirred the uprisings in the Arab Spring’s countries in 2010-2012, it explores how patterns of contagion of conflict have been operating through specific cultural conditions during successful protests that led to the change of regime as opposed to failed protests that did not. The paper offers a cultural profile of the Arab Spring countries, discussing its implications for the countries’ governance regarding the existence of inter-networked places of protests, significance of their cultural traditions, and their linkage to success or failure of the protests. https://ojs-unimi-test.4science.cloud/index.php/glocalism/article/view/21197placethird spaceradical spacethe Arab Springcultural dimensions
spellingShingle Olesya Venger
Geographical Proximity is not Enough: How Culture Shaped Placement, Spatiality, and the Outcomes of the Arab Spring’s Uprising
Glocalism: Journal of Culture, Politics and Innovation
place
third space
radical space
the Arab Spring
cultural dimensions
title Geographical Proximity is not Enough: How Culture Shaped Placement, Spatiality, and the Outcomes of the Arab Spring’s Uprising
title_full Geographical Proximity is not Enough: How Culture Shaped Placement, Spatiality, and the Outcomes of the Arab Spring’s Uprising
title_fullStr Geographical Proximity is not Enough: How Culture Shaped Placement, Spatiality, and the Outcomes of the Arab Spring’s Uprising
title_full_unstemmed Geographical Proximity is not Enough: How Culture Shaped Placement, Spatiality, and the Outcomes of the Arab Spring’s Uprising
title_short Geographical Proximity is not Enough: How Culture Shaped Placement, Spatiality, and the Outcomes of the Arab Spring’s Uprising
title_sort geographical proximity is not enough how culture shaped placement spatiality and the outcomes of the arab spring s uprising
topic place
third space
radical space
the Arab Spring
cultural dimensions
url https://ojs-unimi-test.4science.cloud/index.php/glocalism/article/view/21197
work_keys_str_mv AT olesyavenger geographicalproximityisnotenoughhowcultureshapedplacementspatialityandtheoutcomesofthearabspringsuprising