Mubarak is gone: Who's next?
With once-entrenched dictators toppled in Egypt and Tunisia, the world is wondering if Middle East autocrats like Yemen's president will be next

The wave of popular uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East has already swept Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Tunisia's Zine el Abidine Ben Ali from power. Now, everyone from Western leaders to Arab protesters to nervous autocrats across the Muslim world are wondering: Who's next? The region's "longtime implacable dictators" are all acutely aware that the world is watching, says Joel Brinkley in the San Francisco Chronicle, but they also know that "a few months from now, this moment will have passed." Who might not make it that long?
YEMEN: President Ali Abdullah Saleh
"Surely, the obvious 'next' candidate is Yemen," says Jason Ditz in Antiwar.com. After 32 years in power, Saleh has pledged to stand down when his term ends in 2013. But anti-government protesters aren't satisfied, and Monday marked the fourth day of continuous demonstrations and violent clashes with armed Saleh supporters. "Temperatures are high and getting higher," says Siddhartha Mahanta in Mother Jones. And given the country's high unemployment and government corruption, "there is a sincere likelihood of change," says Gregory White in Business Insider.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
IRAN: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mubarak's fall has reinvigorated the passions that fueled the 2009 "Green Revolution," which went largely underground after harsh government crackdowns. Thousands defied government warnings Monday and took to the streets in Tehran and other big cities, ostensibly in solidarity with Egyptians, but also shouting "death to the dictator." The chance of a full-scale uprising is "moderate," says Mahanta in Mother Jones, but the odds of another crackdown are "tragically high."
BAHRAIN: King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa
Protesters held an Egypt-style "day of rage" on Monday, and the "deep grievances" of the country's poorer Shiite Muslim minority make Bahrain "the most susceptible" of the Gulf states to popular revolt, says regional analyst Theodore Karasik, as quoted by Bloomberg Businessweek. King Hamad, part of the Sunni elite, tried to "bribe" each family in the country with thousands of dollars, but that may not be enough to pacify the protesters, says Ditz in Antiwar.com. Bahrain is "the biggest wild-card" in the region.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
PALESTINE: President Mahmoud Abbas
The day after Mubarak fell, Abbas and the ruling Fatah party scheduled long-overdue national elections for September, and on Monday the entire cabinet resigned. This shows that Abbas is "freaking out," says Khaled Abu Toameh in The Jerusalem Post. "In the eyes of many Palestinians, Abbas is not much different from Hosni Mubarak," and these acts of "desperation" are an attempt to keep Egypt's "anti-government wave" from washing him out of power.
ALGERIA: President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Algerians were among the first to hit the streets in this wave of Arab uprisings, but the Bouteflika regime was slow to respond. The foreign minister finally said Monday that the government will end the repressive 19-year-old emergency laws "in the coming days," but insisted, "Algeria is not Tunisia or Egypt." Actually, Algeria's situation is remarkably similar to Egypt's, says Vivienne Walt in Time, so "that statement might be wishful thinking" on the part of the Bouteflika government.
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published