Amazigh politics in the wake of the Arab Spring

"In the wake of the uprisings that spread across several countries in the Middle East and North Africa beginning in December 2010, scholars and political correspondents were quick to provide analyses of the regime changes and political fallout of what became dubbed the "Arab Spring." While an abundance of commentary has focused on the majority, city-dwelling populations who most visibly participated in the protests, there has been little examination of the impact these mass political upheavals have had on Amazigh communities, often known as Berbers, who live throughout much of North Africa and the Sahel. Maddy-Weitzman investigates Amazigh identity movements within the context of the Arab Spring. He contends that, although the countries in which Amazigh groups have the largest populations (Morocco and Algeria) did not witness substantial challenges to their governments, the Amazigh have been central to questions of political legitimacy and status quo within these countries"--