Upheavals in the Middle East: The Theory and Practice of a Revolution engages with some of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East—revolutions and social protests. The book offers theoretical paradigms that suit the Middle East’s conditions—culturally, religiously and historically. It deals with seventeen case studies from a range of Muslim and Arab states and provides a theoretical framework to study other situations all over the world, including cases from the recent Arab Spring. Revolution, as political action, can occur in all societies, but in recent years it has appeared most frequently in the Middle East. Will this trend continue? What makes the Middle Eastern revolution unique and surprising? This book seeks to answer these questions, placing side by side those cases that were successful and those that were doomed to fail.

[This book includes a] high quality of...research that offers a new way to look at the Middle Eastern revolutions of the twentieth century and provides valuable insights to understand a region that remains problematic and fascinating like no others. * ASMEA: Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa *
Prof. Cohen makes an excellent argument as to why revolutions throughout the Muslim world have failed. He provides detailed and fascinating insights into the forces behind these upheavals, which demonstrate how different these events are from similar events which take in the West. An excellent read. -- Harold Rhode, Advisor of Islamic Affairs, Office of the US Secretary of Defense (retired)
This book will add to the scientific understanding of the hugely complicated process of political change in the Middle East and beyond. Such understanding is especially crucial as the 'Arab Spring'—launched with a promise to introduce democracy to the region—has produced fragile political systems at best and bloody struggles at worst. Cohen’s scholarship is impeccable, his research careful, and the amount of sources he consults is impressive. There are numerous books on political change in the Middle East and/or Islam, but this is the only work that tries to provide a systematic way to understand the issue. -- Ofira Seliktar, Gratz College

Ronen A. Cohen is assistant professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies and Political Science, and senior researcher at the Middle East Research Center at Ariel University. Cohen has published several books, including: The Rise and Fall of the Mojahedin Khalq, 1987–1997: Their Survival after the Islamic Revolution and Resistance to the Islamic Republic of Iran and The Hojjatiyeh Society in Iran: Ideology and Practice from the 1950s to the Present.