Dal dissenso alla rivoluzione: satira e potere nel mondo arabo contemporaneo

• Main Author: Barbara De Poli insegna Storia contemporanea dei paesi islamici all’Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia. Ha pubblicato, tra l’altro, I musulmani nel Terzo Millennio (Roma, Carocci, 2007) e Il sorriso della mezzaluna (Roma, Carocci, 2011).
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Diacronie 2012-10-01
• Series: Diacronie. Studi di Storia Contemporanea
• Subjects: Arab Spring; politics; satire; authoritarianism; democracy; Primavera araba; politica; satira; autoritarismo; democrazia
• Online Access: http://www.studistorici.com/2012/10/29/depoli_numero_11/

The satire against Authority can provide a special understanding of contemporary history of Arab countries, especially exploring humour expressions before, during and after the 2011 revolts. After an historical review of satirical expressions in the MENA region in XX century, this study investigate the role that humour and satire played in particular during the Tunisian and Egyptian revolts. Even during the rough and brutal moments of the riots, Tunisians and Egyptians could laugh at the fading power of Ben Alì and Mubarak, testifying their pungent derision of the regimes. Their fall has therefore consented a wider degree of freedom of expression including various forms of humour, chiefly satirical, that nowadays, especially on web sites, provide a parallel overview of recent events.