Whatever the lessons of the Arab spring uprisings of 2011, and the measures of hope, disillusionment and despair that followed, it is hard to argue that life has improved greatly for most people affected by the region’s changes. Tunisia, which many saw as the best bet for successful democratic reform, has seen reality bite, with old institutions quietly consolidating power and extremists exploiting disillusioned young people.
Seven years on, a sharp rise in living costs has seen Tunisians return to the streets in large numbers. For the Guardian Weekly cover story this week, Emma Graham-Harrison asks whether this latest anger could translate into a second wave of Arab spring uprisings, and how that might affect the wider region.
Last weekend was the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s US presidency, and to mark the occasion David Smith looks back at the 12 weirdest moments of an utterly bizarre year in Washington. Elsewhere we hear from Mali, where music is returning to Timbuktu after years of enforced silence, and the Amazon, where an indigenous activist’s murder has cast light on the murky and lawless world of environmental degradation.
On our Comment pages, Emily Bell writes forcefully about Facebook and the impact of its news feed on democracy, while Gary Younge makes the case for Britain’s Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to finally bring forth his party’s radical political agenda.
In the Weekly Review there’s a forensic dissection of Manchester City, the Abu Dhabi-owned English Premier League football club-turned-mega-vehicle with a business plan to dominate the world game. Then there’s the remarkable but shocking tale of the Bolivian saltwater lake that has simply dried up and vanished in the matter of a few years.
Culture delves into the treasure trove that is the Royal Shakespeare Company’s props cupboard, while Books offers up a timely reappraisal of the great female surrealist painters.
In Sport we ask whether the Tottenham striker Harry Kane has got what it takes to become the world’s best, while Richard Williams looks back admiringly at the life of Cyrille Regis, a trailblazer for black British footballers who died last week aged just 59.
On the back page, the writer Ruby Hamad expresses her hope that New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s pregnancy can change the conversation about women combining childcare and career. It’s going to be a hectic time but no doubt she’ll do a brilliant job, supported one suspects by most Kiwis (and a fair few admirers beyond).
Thank you for supporting Guardian journalism through your subscription to the Weekly. I hope you enjoy the edition; please do drop me a line and let me know what you think of it.
If you are a subscriber looking for our digital edition, please click here.
