ABSTRACT
The Arab Uprisings that swept the region beginning in late 2010 exposed the scale of contemporary domestic political, economic, and social challenges confronting state governments. The region today is confronting several overlapping crises with important implications. Certainly, all regional governments will need to address more effectively the continued demands for political and economic reforms echoed in the streets during the Arab Uprisings. Regional governments will also need to confront the generational tasks of repairing the physical, economic, social, and psychological damage wrought by civil wars in Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Iraq. The turmoil and uncertainties generated by the Arab uprisings and the civil wars have generated any number of opportunities for the non-Arab countries in the region to extend and assert their influence. Iran has created an extensive network of mainly Shi’a militant proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen as useful tools to undermine the stability of Arab regimes.
