Why have most revolutionary movements of the Arab Spring failed? What influence do regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Iran have? And will more people become refugees if states in the Middle East and North Africa remain unstable or even collapse for years? The demonstrators and insurgents who shook the foundations of the old order in 2011 lacked a common vision. This has resulted in bitter consequences. In most of the Arab transition states, the situation today is even darker than the status quo ante. Alongside state repression, war and terror now prevail. Anne-Béatrice Clasmann illustrates how the disregard for human rights and the anti-educational political culture of the old regimes continue to have repercussions to this day.