ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will show how the demographic transition, in its broadest sense a universal phenomenon, 2 now encompasses the Arab (and Muslim) world. Beyond the stage of descriptive demography, we would like to pay attention to the elements of politics related to the demographic transition, particularly with regard to the Arab Spring, which started in late 2010. The connections we will draw between education, demography and politics are, in itself, not completely new. In fact, the British historian Lawrence Stone (1969) already established a link between education and revolution in an article published one year after the May Revolution of 1968. 3 His research suggests that once populations reach the threshold, in which 50 per cent of their young males are literate, political trouble arises. The link between increased levels of education and social disruption can also be found in other regions, such as the Arab world today, where young people are, from a demographic point of view, the dominant group in the population and the driving force behind protests and revolution.
