The Levant Express: The Arab Uprisings, Human Rights, and the Future of the Middle East by Dr. Micheline R. Ishay

Review by Alexandra Menter

The short:

Dr. Micheline Ishay assesses the 2011 Arab Uprising, otherwise known as The Arab Spring, to argue in favor of a new revolution to advance, implement, and advocate for human rights in the Middle East.

The long:

Dr. Micheline Ishay recounts her three-year experience as a Professor at Khalifa University teaching graduate-level courses in critical thought and human rights. As she reflects on her experiences exposing her students to complex social issues, Dr. Ishay examines the importance of the liberal values that characterized the Enlightenment and Franklin D. Roosevelt's four freedoms; freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from fear, and freedom from want. Ishay assesses the 2011 Arab Spring by arguing that this period in history characterized the arrival of the Enlightenment to the Middle East. Ishay draws comparisons to the Arab Spring and other historical human rights revolutions, including anti-colonial struggles against oppressive European powers, and socialist revolutions in Europe. Ishay ultimately argues for a ‘Rooseveltian’ approach to ushering in a new era of human rights that prioritizes economic development, gender equality, sexual freedom, and democratic exchange of ideas.

To read or not to read:

Read! This is one of my favorite books about human rights and revolutionary uprisings in the Middle Eastern region. Ishay is a highly creative thinker who brilliantly parallels the Arab Spring with other revolutionary human rights movements and extracts ideas and concepts out of these comparisons. Her ideas are bold and, ultimately, revolutionary themselves. Definitely read this book!