Dangers of timing the ‘Arab Spring’ in security scholarship using temporal tropes

What is it about?

Security scholars respond conservatively to welcome political changes such as the initial ‘Arab Spring’, as evident in their attempt to time the changes using temporal tropes like the problem of time, fluvial metaphors, and temporal Othering

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Why is it important?

The article unpacks crucial dynamics at work in ostensibly objective analyses during momentous occasions of political transformation. I develop a novel theory of timing that draws out powerful temporal tropes hiding in plain sight in security scholars' responses to surprising events. It also explains why those scholars tend to respond conservatively to such changes.