ARAB SPRING: TECHNOLOGIES OF REBELLION

The article considers events in the North Africa and Middle East that are known under the common term "Arab Spring", from the viewpoint of technologies for managing social protest with the purpose of capturing political power. After analyzing the reasons for the "Arab Spring", its driving forces, dynamics of protest actions and their consequences, the authors come to the conclusion that what was happening in the region was a spontaneous riot that guided politicians rather than a revolution. According to their assessment, the events of the "Arab Spring" demonstrated, most importantly, a possibility of launching an active social protest, transforming it into a mass form and using it for achieving political outcomes.