The October 2024 issue of Democracy and Autocracy is dedicated to the theme “Making Sense of the Arab State,” for which the University of Michigan Press recently published an edited volume. Newsletter authors include Lisa Anderson (Columbia University), Toby Dodge (London School of Economics), Steven Heydemann (Smith College), Marc Lynch (George Washington University), and Bassel F. Salloukh (Doha Institute for Graduate Studies). Sofia Fenner (Colorado College) and Hesham Sallam (Stanford University) also exchange reviews of their recent books, Shouting in a Cage: Political Life after Authoritarian Co-optation in North Africa (Fenner, Columbia University Press, 2023) and Classless Politics: Islamist Movements, the Left, and Authoritarian Legacies in Egypt (Sellam, University of Columbia Press, 2023). Loay Alarab (University of Michigan) serves as guest editor.