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This article points out that the watershed events that initiated the period of contentious politics in the Arab world after 2010 not only reshaped regional and global politics but also challenged state power and long held theories dominant in the region, particularly about the popular acquiescence to regime control. They opened new areas of inquiry as well. By their impact on regional and international politics, these events have drawn the attention of scholars across the world. Some argue that these changes occurred as a result of the globalisation of democratic norms, new media technologies and regional structural changes, which led to widespread demonstrations, both violent and nonviolent. In calling for the downfall of the entrenched regimes, they signalled a breakdown of the social contract that had existed between the people and their rulers since independence.
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