Angst springs eternal: dangerous times and the dangers of timing the 'Arab Spring'

Hom, A. R. (2016) Angst springs eternal: dangerous times and the dangers of timing the 'Arab Spring'. Security Dialogue, 47(2), pp. 165-183. (doi: 10.1177/0967010615617684)

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Abstract

Various reflections on the ‘Arab Spring’ evince a common view of the relationship between change and time that imbues events with a sense of intrinsic peril. Based on a framework developed from Norbert Elias’s concept of timing, this article elaborates the relationship between time and the ‘Arab Spring’ by unpacking and explaining three rhetorical tropes prevalent in academic responses to the revolts. The first two construct a problem to which the third proffers a solution. First, analysts treat time itself as a problematic force confounding stability and progress. Second, they deploy fluvial metaphors to present dynamic events as inherently insecure. Third, they use temporal Othering to retrofit the ‘Arab Spring’ to the familiar arc of liberal democracy, which renders the revolts intelligible and amenable to external intervention. These moves prioritize certainty and order over other considerations and constrain open-ended transformations within a familiar rubric of political progress. They also constitute an active timing effort based on a conservative standard, with important implications for our understanding of security and for scholarly reflexivity. The article concludes with three temporal alternatives for engaging novel changes like the ‘Arab Spring’.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Hom, Andrew
Authors: Hom, A. R.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
Journal Name:Security Dialogue
Publisher:Sage Publications Ltd.
ISSN:0967-0106
ISSN (Online):1460-3640
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2016 The Author
First Published:First published in Security Dialogue 47(2): 165-183
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
654441Moral Victories - Ethics, Exit Strategies and the Ending of WarsCian O'DriscollEconomic & Social Research Council (ESRC)ES/L013363/1SPS - POLITICS