ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses that inequality has not been taken into serious consideration when assessing the drivers of the 'Arab Spring' and other uprisings. As a consequence, governments, especially in Africa, fail to address a possible root cause of popular discontent that will continue to haunt them for the foreseeable future. By focusing on inequality as a source of discontent and frustration, and as a motivator for mass political movements – but not necessarily violence as this is often triggered by the state itself – the chapter seeks to redirect research and policy towards addressing this pressing issue. It explores the possibility of securitising inequality as a potential mobiliser of economic measures and political will in order to urgently attend to this growing and potentially disastrous phenomenon. A case for the securitisation of inequality can be built upon observance of the dire political and economic consequences that these uprisings have had in select African states.
