Today, two years after the beginning of the “Arab spring”, the region is torn apart by a series of conflicting forces, which go much beyond those who toppled the then current regimes, first in Tunisia, then in Egypt. The clashes witnessed first along Avenue Bourghiba, then in Tahrir Square at the beginning of 2011 pitted authoritarian and largely secular regimes against a protest movement, largely composed of young educated people, who demanded freedom, dignity, justice and, by implication, a measure of democracy. The impression one could receive was that a new generation was in the making that - while not yet a majority in the respective societies - was an indication of their progressive transformation along more modern and open lines, in part thanks to the Internet and the social networks.