I want to question the domino analysis of the Arab events, firstly by highlighting a number of critical, even subversive uses of the domino, notably by political cartoonists, then by recontextualising the 2011 events within different geohistories of protest including those of transnational uprisings and repression.

While the politics of Tahrir square were met with admiration and praise from all those who love democracy, it is precisely the policing of these practices that mark an orderly transition. Indeed, it is only once the appropriate orders and institutions (parliaments, courts, property rights, etc.) of democratic governance are established that Americans will claim that democracy in Egypt has prevailed.

Urban exploration certainly does, at times, display a public image of apolitical benignity, aligned with notions of “leaving no trace” that conform with contemporary eco-tourism practices in order to garner public support, but Bennett never attempts to unravel that smoke screen to see what lies behind it. 

Bradley Garrett offers an alternative reading of ‘urban exploration’. He contrasts my “virtual” study with the extended period of participant observation entailed in his three year study of urban exploration, and its “diverse and multifaceted community”. Garrett implies that only such long term immersion can reveal the full colour and polyphony of this community.

Ideas of blood, blood-lust and circulation have been used to support specific geopolitical agendas within this region, and rather than reproducing these we must uncover the forms of accountability and resolution they endorse.

Society and Space is pleased to publish an open-access companion piece to the Aerographies section in the current issue of the journal, with contributions from Jason Groves, Craig Martin, Ken Olwig, Mark Jackson, and Maria Fannin. It includes personal reflections, some beautiful illustrations, excerpts from related work, and links of interest.