Over the past several decades, few puzzles have captivated academic imaginations more than the persistence of authoritarianism in the Middle East. Scholars have dedicated volumes to exploring possible causal factors, including the role of oil rents, the “robustness” of coercive apparatuses, Islamist movements, civil society, elite fragmentation, and other such political processes and characteristics. However, the eruption of what has been dubbed the “Arab Spring” in late 2010 sent shockwaves through the world, decimating myths about Arab sociopolitical gridlock. Sweeping social change in the region appeared largely “unthinkable” until an unprecedented series of popular movements turned streets into occupied protest zones across the region.