Introduction

Abstract

The Arab Spring arose from the frustrations and aspirations of ordinary and mostly young and also in part uneducated people, far away from the corridors of big businesses, media companies and government offices. Operating against the harshest of odds, the movement spread with a phenomenal rapidity, reaping one unexpected victory after the other. While considering the wider context for the Arab Spring, the focal point here is not the political aspects, but the fundamental economic and institutional forces at work.