The Evolution of Arab Political Identity in the Context of Arab Spring: A Social Constructivist Perspective

Abstract

Arab political identity, despite its different paths of development, has emerged and evolved depending on the social and historical context and manifested through discourse. Among different ideological currents, Arab national identity, which developed as a reaction to the late Ottoman rule and the advance of Western influence in the region, dominated the course of events in the Arab world from the late 19th to the second half of the 20th century. In the interwar (1918-1939) and in the post-1945 periods, it turned out to be an anti-colonial and pan-Arab national movement, culminating with Nasserism led by nationalist and socialist figures in the 1950s and 1960s. After 1967, a variety of reasons led to the decline of pan-Arabism and the rise of Islamism in the region. However, the changing context and world order with globalization brought about the split of Islamism into different forms and a revival of Arab liberal thought dating back to the 18th century. At the beginning of the 21st century, a youth-led wave of pro-democracy uprisings shook the region, demanding an inclusive and accountable political leadership, a functioning economic system, and a just and stable social order upon the overthrow of authoritarian regimes. At this point, considering the role of identity in political and social mobilization in the Arab world, this thesis aims to examine the evolution of Arab political identity in the context of the Arab Spring. The study relies on Discourse Analysis (DA) as a research method, while the theory of Social Constructivism is used to evaluate the research findings. Consequently, this thesis argues that Arab political identity has evolved from an Islamist ideology toward a post-Islamist and liberal thought, despite its failure to dominate current Arab politics, in the context of the Arab Spring upon the reconstruction of social reality and perceptions through language-in-use.