The 2011 uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa began in Tunisia and spread across the region as far east as Bahrain on the Arabian Gulf. They shook and overthrew decades-long repressive monarchies and presidencies and opened up the possibility of social transformation.

Yet the hopes of the Arab Spring were followed by counter-revolution, civil war and the restoration of authoritarian rule in several countries. What went wrong, and why did these extraordinary movements fail to transform society?

This session revisits the Arab Spring from a revolutionary socialist perspective, examining the role of the working class, the limits of liberal opposition and the lessons for struggles against dictatorship and capitalism today.