Angst springs eternal: Dangerous times and the dangers of timing the ‘Arab Spring’

Abstract

Various reflections on the 'Arab Spring' evince a common view of the relationship between change and time that imbues events with a sense of intrinsic peril. Based on a framework developed from Norbert Elias's concept of timing, this article elaborates the relationship between time and the 'Arab Spring' by unpacking and explaining three rhetorical tropes prevalent in academic responses to the revolts. The first two construct a problem to which the third proffers a solution. First, analysts treat time itself as a problematic force confounding stability and progress. Second, they deploy fluvial metaphors to present dynamic events as inherently insecure. Third, they use temporal Othering to retrofit the 'Arab Spring' to the familiar arc of liberal democracy, which renders the revolts intelligible and amenable to external intervention. These moves prioritize certainty and order over other considerations and constrain open-ended transformations within a familiar rubric of political progress. They also constitute an active timing effort based on a conservative standard, with important implications for our understanding of security and for scholarly reflexivity. The article concludes with three temporal alternatives for engaging novel changes like the 'Arab Spring'.

The Trump administration’s politics of time: The temporal dynamics that enable Trump’s interests to determine American foreign policy

“…Recent moves within the discipline of international relations (IR) have sought to emphasize the role of temporality and time within global and international politics (Agathanagelou and Killian, 2016; Berenskoetter, 2011; Debrix, 2015; Fisher, 2013; Hom, 2010, 2016, 2018a, 2018b; Hutchings, 2008; Lundborg, 2012, 2015; McIntosh, 2015; Solomon, 2014; Stevens, 2016; Stockdale, 2016; Wheeler, 2017). In the past few years, these efforts have grown significantly, primarily as an attempt to theorize an ontological assumption that has remained largely unexamined.…”

Culture and society during revolutionary transformation: Rereading Matthew Arnold and Antonio Gramsci in the context of the Arab Spring’s cultural production

“…They have done so by defining a specific and limited period of time and timeline for what they called the ‘Arab Spring’ as a way to keep control over the intelligibility and meaning of these changes. This ‘temporal Othering renders ambiguous processes intelligible, manageable, and ultimately securable under the rubric of democratization’ (Hom, 2016: 166). A longitudinal approach is recommended, with a great focus on the individuals’ multiple relationships to the revolutionary process and to the social and cultural scene.…”

Is faster better? Political and ethical framings of pace and space

“…A key argument herein is that the actors of world politics, broadly conceived, ubiquitously use the language of time and space with important consequences, but do not often acknowledge or theorize time and space as concepts, nor explicitly consider them together. Among scholars, a burgeoning body of International Relations (IR) writing has sought to rectify this lack, in part, with its emphasis on temporality, time, and timing (Der Derian 2001;Hutchings 2008;Hom and Steele, 2010;Shapiro 2010;Glezos 2011;Solomon 2014;McIntosh 2015;Stevens 2015;Agathangelou and Killian 2016;Hom 2016Hom , 2018aHom , 2018bHom et al 2016). However, this literature has been, on the whole, less attentive to how time and space implicate one another, and while a 'temporal turn' appears on the horizon (Hom 2018b), it may be in danger of becoming a niche specialization in IR rather than having broad applicability.…”

“…Relative to a metaphysics of time, a social lens is more attentive to how interpretations and understandings of time matter. The point is to investigate how perceptions and arrangements of time and timing are key heuristics for thinking the world and acting (Solomon 2014;Hom 2018a), narrating events and history (Barder and McCourt 2010;Lundborg 2012;McIntosh 2015;Agathangelou and Killian 2016;Hom 2016;Fazendeiro 2018), and conceptualizing accounts of ethics and change (Connolly 2002;Hutchings 2008;Hom and Steele 2010;Fazendeiro 2018) including the use of calendar time (as duration) for structuring the distribution of democratic participation (Cohen 2018) and for managing everyday activities and subjectivities of populations (Bastian 2012).…”