The tyrant exists only in the imagination of his subjects; the master resides only in the perception of the slave. Attempts at defiance have been abundant in the recent history of the Arabs, many of them in Palestine, but unlike those, the Tunisian example was successful: it widened people’s imagination, changed their perception, increased their self-confidence and showed them how fragile their tyrants are.

Revolutions travel, and in the Arab world they travel faster: after the first world war, a wave of revolutions swept through the region: Egypt in 1919, Iraq in 1920, Syria in 1925, a guerrilla war in Palestine from 1922-35 and a full-scale popular revolt from 1936-39. After the loss of Palestine to the Zionist movement in 1948, Arab leaders who were perceived to be incompetent and complicit were punished. This time there were political assassinations and military coups: 1949 Lebanon and Syria, 1951 Jordan, 1952 Egypt and 1958 Iraq. More recently, when the Lebanese resistance was able to defeat Israel and force it to withdraw under fire in May 2000, the second Palestinian intifada began a few months later. Despite the difference in performance, Gaza 2008 was a replay of Lebanon 2006. In both wars, Israel killed many civilians but was unable to achieve any of its political goals.

But Tunisia was a first in the Arab world, in that it was a non-violent, persistent and eventually successful people’s revolution against a native tyrant allied with the west. The other events were either directed against a colonial power or were military coups, leaving the Arab rulers and their colonial allies with the impression that occupation was immune to popular anger. It also was a first in that it showed how ordinary people can be quite good in the art of government. Street committees were formed to prevent looting, some cities formed their own governing bodies to fill the vacuum after the fall of the regime – such bodies were democratic in the rawest sense of the word, legitimate and efficient.

Now the wave is coming. I will venture to say that the Egyptian regime has already fallen: it might take some time, but the fear, the perception that the regime is invincible has gone once and for all. All this is followed quite closely in Palestine; any future intifada will not be directed only against the occupation, but also against any Palestinian entity that co-operates with the occupation. Tunisia sent out the message that client regimes fall – that if we can drive the empires out, we will surely be able to drive out their vassals.

As I write, demonstrations rage in the streets of Cairo: everyone knows that if they stay at home, they will be compromising the safety of those in the streets, as well as their own freedom. Cairo knows and Cairo moves. Ramallah worries that an empowered Cairo means an empowered Gaza, and Tel Aviv and Washington know that instead of just Iran, they will now have to worry about Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Palestine all at once.

Tamim Al-Barghouti is a Palestinian poet. He is currently a visiting assistant professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.