We meet in the midst of several wonying interlocking economic and political developments. To Say that the “Arab Spring” has placed existing governance structures in that region under some stress would be an understatement. The initial hope and excitement generated by the Arab Spring is now giving way to analyses that are more realistic, factoring in both the country specific peculiarities and, indeed, anxiety and uncertainty that the successor political dispensations will take longer to evolve and may resonate with a far higher degrees of radicalisation than initially envisaged.