Western commentators usually attribute the turmoil in the Middle East to interference by global powers such as Britain, France, Russia and the USA. This provocative study aims to overturn that view, arguing that it is the culmination of long-existing trends in the region, from the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire to the rise of Isil, and that only when Middle Eastern people take responsibility for their actions, and the West drops its condescending approach, can the region look forward to a real Arab Spring.