Although the popular uprisings of 2011 were not driven by Islamist forces, it is the Islamist movements, and the Muslim Brotherhood in particular, that have filled the power vacuums that opened up with the collapse of the regimes of the region. How did they do it and how will they manage their new political role?

In this authoritative analysis, Alison Pargeter follows the twists and turns of the Muslim Brotherhood as it battled through the years of oppression under authoritarian regimes to finally become a key and legitimate political actor.

Including new chapters on the Brotherhood in the wake of the Arab Spring, this updated edition is the essential guide to understanding the forces shaping the Arab world today.