ABSTRACT
The Arab Spring was a series of demonstrations, protests, and civil discord that were intended to topple, and indeed did topple, several authoritarian regimes in the Arab world. The onset of the Arab Spring can be dated to the outbreak of the Tunisian Revolution on December 17, 2010, which drove Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power and led ultimately to democratic elections in October 2011. The President of the Internet Society of Tunisia, Khaled Koubaa, is quoted to the effect, "Social media was absolutely critical." With or without social networks or social media, the conditions throughout Middle East and North Africa were ripe for popular insurgencies and protest "due to an assortment of politico-economic conditions." Social scientists everywhere have sought to understand the Arab Spring uprisings, and in particular, how they were organized and structured.
