A new generation lays its predecessors' ghosts to rest
In Al-Monitor's latest longform, we look at young people throughout the Mideast who have been at the forefront of efforts to turn the page on decades of sclerotic and rigged politics in favor of a more democratic alternative.
Young protesters, unhobbled by past traumas, take to the streets
Tahrir Square in Baghdad. The Grande Poste in Algiers. Martyrs’ Square in Beirut. In recent months, these landmarks have become the latest battlegrounds in the generational revolt against the Middle East's corrupt ruling class.
In all three countries, young people have been at the forefront of efforts to turn the page on decades of sclerotic and rigged politics in favor of a more democratic alternative. Once written off as an apolitical “internet generation,” they are now spearheading movements set on fundamentally transforming their countries — politically, economically and socially. The coronavirus epidemic may temporarily keep them out of the streets, but their movement endures.
