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After the Arab Spring: How Islamists Hijacked The Middle East Revolts Hardcover – January 3, 2012
| John R. Bradley (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
"After the Arab Spring is indispensable to understanding why the Middle East uprisings aren't going where we want. Bradley has a better pulse on the reality than anyone."--ROBERT BAER, former CIA operative and inspiration for the movie SYRIANA
'The situation [in the Middle East] has developed almost exactly along the lines that John R. Bradley predicted."--The Spectator (U.K.)
"Bradley says Western journalists mocked him when he predicted a revolution in Egypt. In his famous book Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs on the Brink of a Revolution (2008), he predicted the outbreak of a popular revolt against the Mubarak regime (which banned the book). After the uprising Bradley was transformed into a star overnight, because of his book's accurate prediction; and he is hunted by the print media, satellite channels and international television stations."--Asharq Al-Awsat, the leading pan-Arab daily newspaper
"What distinguishes [Bradley] from many other Western commentators is that he has gone native in the Arab world, living among Arab people and immersing himself in Arab culture. What also makes him stand out is the way he writes with a manifest determination to make a difference."--The New Statesman (U.K.)
"[Bradley] uses a graceful journalist's pen to write with scholarly authority [and] shows a sensitivity rare for a Westerner, reaching directly to the society's core."--The Nation
"Back in 2008, John R. Bradley was dubbed an alarmist for uniquely -- yet at the same time accurately -- predicting an Egyptian uprising. But he was right, and his publications were banned by Hosni Mubarak's regime. In his new book, After the Arab Spring, his message is a simple one: everything we've been told about the Arab spring is wrong. In his view, political Islam has hijacked the revolutions across the Middle East."--Sir David Frost, on Al-Jazeera English
"John R. Bradley, author of After the Arab Spring, was one of the few journalists who sang out of tune to the chorus of Arab Spring enthusiasts, pointing out that the failure of the democratic transition in Tunisia, the most progressive Arab country, portended failure when it came to the possibility of success in other countries. The Islamists were poised to mobolise for the elections. They have indeed hijacked the revolutions." --Tomás Alcoverro, La Vanguardia (Spain)
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSt. Martin's Press
- Publication dateJanuary 3, 2012
- Dimensions6.38 x 0.94 x 9.49 inches
- ISBN-100230338194
- ISBN-13978-0230338197
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"A significant strength of Bradley's analysis is his methodological strategy, drawing from sources as diverse as interview transcripts, public speeches, websites, personal correspondence, TV shows, magazines, newspaper articles, and interviews. This book manages to produce a bitter yet accurate picture of the Arab world post-2011. Future writing on the topic of inter- national conflict, foreign policy, and democratization would do well to incorporate the warnings and arguments of this book."--International Journal of Development and Conflict
About the Author
JOHN R. BRADLEY (johnrbradley.wordpress.com) was born in England and was educated at University College London, Dartmouth College in the United States, and Exeter College, Oxford. He is the author of four non-fiction books on the contemporary Arab world published by Palgrave Macmillan that draw heavily on his personal experience: Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis (2005); Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs on the Brink of a Revolution (2008; updated edition 2012); Behind the Veil of Vice: The Business and Culture of Sex in the Middle East (2010); and After the Arab Spring: How Islamists Hijacked the Middle East Revolts (2012). Bradley has been covering the Middle East for almost two decades. He has written essays, dispatches, reviews, and op-eds for numerous publications, including: The Washington Quarterly, The New Republic, The Times Literary Supplement, The Spectator, Salon, The London Telegraph, The Forward, The London Evening Standard, The New York Post, The London Sunday Times, Foreign Affairs, The Financial Times, The Daily Mail, The Independent, The Jewish Chronicle, The Washington Times, Newsweek, Asia Times, Prospect, and The Economist. He has been interviewed about the Middle East by CNN, the BBC, PBS, NPR, CBS, Fox News, Al-Jazeera English, Sky News, Russia Today, Channel 4 News, Bloomberg TV, and many other media outlets. Bradley's public lectures have most recently taken place at The Pacific Council for International Affairs in Los Angeles, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, London's Intelligence Squared, and The Athenaeum in Claremont, California.
Product details
- Publisher : St. Martin's Press (January 3, 2012)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0230338194
- ISBN-13 : 978-0230338197
- Item Weight : 15.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.38 x 0.94 x 9.49 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #4,571,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,305 in Islamic Social Studies
- #5,030 in African Politics
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

PRAISE FOR JOHN R. BRADLEY
"After the Arab Spring is indispensable to understanding why the Middle East uprisings aren't going where we want. Bradley has a better pulse on the reality than anyone."--ROBERT BAER, former CIA operative and inspiration for the movie SYRIANA
'The situation [in the Middle East] has developed almost exactly along the lines that John R. Bradley predicted."--The Spectator (U.K.)
"Bradley says Western journalists mocked him when he predicted a revolution in Egypt. In his famous book Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs on the Brink of a Revolution (2008), he predicted the outbreak of a popular revolt against the Mubarak regime (which banned the book). After the uprising Bradley was transformed into a star overnight, because of his book's accurate prediction; and he is hunted by the print media, satellite channels and international television stations."--Asharq Al-Awsat, the leading pan-Arab daily newspaper
"What distinguishes [Bradley] from many other Western commentators is that he has gone native in the Arab world, living among Arab people and immersing himself in Arab culture. What also makes him stand out is the way he writes with a manifest determination to make a difference."--The New Statesman (U.K.)
"[Bradley] uses a graceful journalist's pen to write with scholarly authority [and] shows a sensitivity rare for a Westerner, reaching directly to the society's core."--The Nation
"Back in 2008, John R. Bradley was dubbed an alarmist for uniquely -- yet at the same time accurately -- predicting an Egyptian uprising. But he was right, and his publications were banned by Hosni Mubarak's regime. In his new book, After the Arab Spring, his message is a simple one: everything we've been told about the Arab spring is wrong. In his view, political Islam has hijacked the revolutions across the Middle East."--Sir David Frost, on Al-Jazeera English
"John R. Bradley, author of After the Arab Spring, was one of the few journalists who sang out of tune to the chorus of Arab Spring enthusiasts, pointing out that the failure of the democratic transition in Tunisia, the most progressive Arab country, portended failure when it came to the possibility of success in other countries. The Islamists were poised to mobolise for the elections. They have indeed hijacked the revolutions." --Tomás Alcoverro, La Vanguardia (Spain)
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1) knowledge of Arabic--apparently Bradley has that, at least Egyptian dialect. Can he read newspapers? We don't know.
2) many years of living in the region--check
3) academic study of Islam and the history of the countries involved--apparently not
Academics who know Arabic and have a specialized knowledge of the region write book after book from their desks in London, Paris, or Washington. In general (there are exceptions--Bernard Lewis, for example), they have visited the Middle East for short periods, but have never lived there for years at a time. Journalists (most of the "experts" you see on Sunday morning TV) may have lived there, but without a knowledge of Arabic or in-depth study of the region, they are dependent on natives to tell them what's what, and their interpretations are based on hearsay.
Why does knowledge of Arabic matter? For example, when I lived in Egypt in 1969, I taught at the American U. in Cairo, then located on Midan al-Tahrir. Nasser was opening Parliament (a couple blocks away) one day. An American colleague--who did NOT know Arabic--looked at all the people lining the streets with signs and said, "Oh, look! Protesters!!!" The signs said, in fact, "Long live Nasser." Another example is from when I lived in Saudi Arabia: Western colleagues would come back from town (Khobar) and say, "Oh, the people are so friendly! They greet me in the street!" In fact, what the people were saying in the street was obscenities (both men and veiled women). So residence without knowing the language is worse than useless--you can be misled 180 degrees.
Bradley seems to have two of the three requirements: according to the blurb on the book, he speaks Egyptian Arabic (which hints that he picked it up on his own rather than studied it formally) and he lived in Egypt for years. But apparently he lacks the academic background on the region (I can't find anything out about what he studied in university). As other reviewers have noted, on p. 99 he calls Ali the grandson of Muhammad and Hussain the son-in-law of Muhammad. These relationships should be flipped: Ali is a son-in-law and first cousin; Hussain was a grandson (Ali's son). This is basic, so getting it wrong is along the lines of saying that General Washington fought for the British in the Revolution. And it calls into question his other statements, which is unfortunate.
However, this is about the only time Bradley strays into the past. This book is about the present. The first few chapters, on Tunisia and Egypt, are the best. The end of the book, where he strays into areas (Indonesia, Malaysia) that he knows little about firsthand, disintegrate into a diatribe against Islamism. Of course since writing the book, things have taken a different turn, with Morsi being overthrown by the army, and Sissi being elected president. But I don't think that diminishes Bradley's argument that in the midst of political chaos, the Islamist parties, focused and organized, have gained power everywhere the Arab Spring appeared, pretty much the same way the Bolsheviks took advantage of the chaos and petty bickering among liberal parties in Russia in 1917. Remember that Morsi only got elected because of a split vote, and in the runoff was pitted against someone who was widely seen as a stooge of Mubarak. Hitler was elected in a similar way, and like Morsi, his first order of business was to dismantle the democratic system that put him into power. These are not good people.
In summary, there is a lot in this book, whether you agree or disagree with Bradley's opinions. It's well worth reading.
The best thing about this book is that it provides an accurate, on-the-ground reporting with the vision of an insider who is completely neutral. Knowledge & neutrality are two things that are sorely missing from the mainstream Western & Arab media. The author's knowledge of the Arabic language & the long period he spent in the area provide him with such a deep understanding of each Arab country, each unique history and each unique collective psyche of all the different peoples (Yemeni, Bahraini, Saudi, Tunisian, Egyptian, etc). That knowledge & insight make this book highly credible & much closer to the truth & reality of the current situation than any research written by so-called "experts" or Washington think tanks "senior fellows". Besides the eyewitness accounts provided by the author, the book is also very well sourced.
It is a real eye-opener. It provides information that even people in the area do not know about one another. For example, people in Egypt (as seen on all TV shows & read in newspaper articles) do not know the specifics of the revolution in Tunisia & keep referring to "the Tunisian Experience" as the example they wish they had, not knowing that they are both in the same boat, experiencing the same type of violence, & falling prey to the same tyrannical forces in the exact same manner. Iran, comes as another revelation in this book. As the West is living under the romantic notion that the students' revolts there are about "freedom & democracy", it turns out (as information from inside the country reveals) that those revolts are the product of economic hardship & should those revolts succeed, a more conservative, more fundamentalist Islamic regime will replace the current one.
This book is an absolute MUST READ. The information in it is not available anywhere else & it is accurate, credible, neutral, full of unique insight & profound knowledge.
One last note, it seems that the book was printed in a rush. So there are a couple of typos and at least one factual mistake about the Prophet Mohamed's cousin & son-in-law (Ali) who was mentioned as his "grandson"; whereas the Prophet's grandson "Al-Hussein" was mentioned as the "son-in-law".... mistakes that should be easy to fix in the second edition!
Top reviews from other countries
My own opinion is that the Arab spring was unavoidable, as changes in the area was due, it is going to take time to reach the safe coast, and the American, Russian and European intervention (Apart from the Libyan case) is only going to complicate the situations with high incidence of growing fundamentalist feelings...
Finally, there were some major Historical mistakes, especially in the Islamic matters, that needs to be corrected to put things in the right context..

