Since the eruption in the Arab region of what has been termed The Arab Spring, the question of identity and related demands has given rise to multi-dimensional dilemmas. One of the most pressing dilemmas involves the balancing of expectations of immediate response to the political demands for recognition of individual and collective identities and respect for basic human and collective rights with the management of related security and political dangers that arise from such recognition. This dilemma exists within an Arab social and political context based essentially on the logic of personal governance on unitary lines. This is opposed to a system of institutional governance based on differentiation, something which complicates the transition towards democracy and the construction of a state of law and institutions. To understand the risks and opportunities associated with this political context, this paper considers the following:  the theoretical and methodological aspects that facilitate an approach to the problem of identity as a scientific concept (one that is often misunderstood or loaded with all manner of ideological and exclusionary – and sometimes racist –  visions and perceptions); the violence and security-related risks generated by the dialectic of authoritarianism and identity-based demands; and the possible scenarios for the management of risks associated with recognizing identities in light of international political experiments in this area such as have been seen in Spain, Italy, and France.