Western narratives, themes and memories of the Arab Spring: an analysis of western newspaper coverage of the Arab Spring and meaning-making through social and historical memory

Abstract

The mass uprisings that occurred during the Arab Spring of 2011 changed the political landscape of the Arab-speaking world in a matter of months. Western newspapers of record, such as Le Monde and Le Figaro in France, The New York Times in the United States, and The Times in Britain, all provided extensive coverage of the events in the Middle East and North Africa. Through an analysis of the main themes found in the narratives established by the newspapers a general sense of Western impressions towards the Arab Spring can be discerned. Additionally, memories that were frequently remembered by the commentators of the Arab Spring shall be examined to determine what memories of the past were consulted in the service of meaning-making for writers featured in the four newspapers of record.