2011 began with high expectations for new freedoms and prosperity across much of the Arab world. Three years on, there is a palpable sense of disappointment and frustration.
Beginning in the January, a wave of uprisings swept away dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen and triggered unrest in many corners of the region. What has happened since, however, reflects the differing histories, societies and interests of the centres of power in the region.
Egypt and Tunisia
Egypt has been through two revolutions, has had a failed experiment with Political Islam and is now dealing with a low-level insurgency from recently outlawed members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The economy remains in tatters and elections later this year may take us full-circle, back to a president from the military establishment and with no neutral third party left to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and press. But, after the chaos of the past three years, the majority of Egyptians seem ready to re-embrace a more totalitarian structure, if it means security and a revival in the economy.
