25 YEARS -25 IDEAS analyzes the dream of democracy, the horizon of freedom, and a life of dignity as shared by a whole generation in the Arab World, those who came of intellectual age from the end of the Cold War until today´s Arab Spring era. This is a collection of articles from “Le Monde Diplomatique”, published between 1995 and 2020, that addresses is issues central to this historic phase: Political Islam, secularism, human rights, democratic transition, terrorism and geopoliticals in the Arab world, all studies in the context of extraordinary change. What underlay these contributions is the rich, personal experience of a practitioner.
The author, Hicham Alaoui, is not only a scholarly researcher, and a graduate of Princeton, Stanford, and Oxford, but also a privileged witness of regional developments. His engagement with proponents of democracy, human rights and reform has allowed him to describe the momentous actors, and dynamic forces reshaping the Middle East with acuity.
25 Years – 25 IDEAS therefore aims to provide a historical testimony. It constitutes a reference for the general public, as well as a resource for researchers on the Arab world who wish to deepen their knowledge of the crucial issues and the dilemmas that have confronted a generation of Arab democrats.