Tunisia, Egypt & Lebanon: Changing Arab Politics?

A panel discussion on the protests in Egypt and how the U.S. should approach the situation. The panelists offer an historical context for the recent spread of political instability across Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab nations, and say that even for countries in which the government remains in power, the unrest will fundamentally alter the political fabric of the region.The panel—Rami G. Khouri, a journalist from the American University in Beirut; Tarek Masoud, a Harvard Kennedy School professor; E. Roger Owen, a history professor; and Malika Zeghal, a near eastern languages and civilizations professor—say that high unemployment in many nations has been coupled with a widespread belief that governments have failed to protect their citizens.The recent success of the Tunisian protests in ending former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali’s reign has sparked protest movements in other nations to oust governments that have grown unpopular with their people.