The Arab Spring

The Arab Spring was a series of uprisings in the Middle East beginning in the year 2011. The results of these revolutions are still being felt in places present day such as Syria. The wave of uprisings began in Tunisia and slowly spread throughout the regions, with notable long lasting campaigns involved in countries such as Syria, Libya and Egypt. The hope of political scientists at the time was that the Middle East has had enough of tyranny and oppression and was finally taking control to overthrow the aggressors and institute democratic change. This was simply not the case, as Tunisia was the only success story and the rest of the nations involved had their uprising crushed, or the country went into a period of a prolonged civil war. There

A revolution has begun by the people in the Middle East against their long time dictators. The domino effect began first with Tunisia then Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and Libya. Thousands of protestors were gathered on the streets with posters, shouting for change and democracy. Why would there be protests unless the people are unsatisfied with the way the country is governed. Why would they go against their dictator unless they feel they have no rights and that they have no voice. Unlimited power should never be given to one person; the chances of corruption are very high because power can change even the most virtuous individual. That is why the path of a dictatorial country is a path of strife, oppression and economical downfall.

I enjoyed reading your post this week, too. I agree with you with “the group (al Qaeda) has lost their ability to sway the minds of the Arab youth for recruitment purposes.” That is very true that other Islamist terrorist lost their influenza on the region, too. This shows that people showed their willingness and men of goodwill for a more democratic regime. Didn’t they?

‘Temptations OF Power’ is an impressive scholarly work that illustrates the contemporary circumstances of Islamist and Illiberal, uprising movements in the Middle East and North Africa. The book packs Hundreds of interviews with officials of Islamist and illiberal organizations, to advance a new understanding of their political ideologies. Nevertheless, the book gives many stories and details about the political movements in the Arab Nations encountering repression by totalitarian regimes. Moreover, it analyzes the reasons of democratization consequences on other parts of the world excluding Arab Nations. Also, explains various challenges met by the Muslim Brotherhood through different political epochs.

The term “Arab Spring” has emerged in academic literature as well as in the general media from about early 2011. It refers to the “awakening” of some Arab nations and the movements to replace authoritarian regimes with democratic ones. The theme of “spring” and “awakening” seems to have been borrowed from the 1989 reform movements in the former Eastern-block nations, such as in the former German Democratic Republic or Hungary. However, this comparison has been criticised by some analysts since both the circumstances which have led to these movements as well as the outcome of these reform efforts seem to differ quite a lot. Yet, the Arab Spring term seems to be still widely used and even found an extension in the creation of the term Arab Winter which refers to events that happened in 2012 in some Arab countries during which these reform movements seemed to have “cooled-off” and particular nations, such as Egypt, attempted to go back to the status-quo of the pre-2011 era.

Throughout history many societies have, and will likely continue to have revolutions as we as humans strive towards a utopian society. Each and every one of these revolution follows some pattern, a pattern that most often includes a great number of civilian casualties. But what is it that pushes such revolutions forward? Why have people risked and given their lives fighting against their own leadership? Looking at both the French Revolution and the Arab Spring can help uncover the answer to these questions, as for people to willingly risk their lives, they must have been living in destitute situations. Both of these societies did indeed have many social and economic problems, as well as a poor quality of life, specifically for the bottom class, or in the case of the French Revolution, the Third Estate. It is because of these issues that the people stood up to their leaders and demanded a better life, overtaking the government in the process.

The “Arab Spring,” was a chain of violent and nonviolent anti-government protests that spread in the Arab world in 2011. This movement was widely popular and appealing to the people participating in these protests. The Arab Spring symbolized patriotism and giving citizens a chance to remove unjust, corrupt leaders, social and economic unrest, and demand more rights. It was a universal message that was put forth through a series of major international events. Many had positive outcomes which made the Arab Spring much more impactful. The movement began in Tunisia where the suicide of a local vendor unleashed the widespread injustices of the public and eventually led to the downfall of the corrupt and cruel policies of the president. Almost immediately, the protests began to spread to other Arab nations. Egypt and Libya also voted for new leaders due to similar existing corruptness and injustice of its leaders. Through the use of social media and many rallies being gathered online through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, Arab citizens attacked the injustices in their countries. Countries like Bahrain and Syria mostly protested the unfair treatment of the Shiite sect because of a harsh Sunni government ruling. They demanded equal rights and took to the streets and online for these rights (Al-Rawi, 2014). With the lack of a political solution, the crisis still continues, and in Syria, a civil war broke out and the brutality and injustice continues. Many of these street protests

In recent months we have seen political unrest in Tunisia, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries. In each of these countries the political leadership had amassed immense power and was using these powers to restrain and limit their countrymen from development. The ruling class clearly had formed a political structure with a clear agenda to inhibit the growth of their fellow citizens. In the past few decades, people from these countries have endured structural violence due to political hegemony. Exposure to western media has made the people realize the advantage of distributed power. Hence these countries are witnessing a surge of protest, with people fighting against the system. Parsons emphasizes on the distribution of political power and its effects throughout his

In late 2010, a tidal wave of uprisings and protests in various parts of the Arab world emerged. It began with the Tunisian revolution when the martyr Mahmoud Bouazizi set fire to himself as a result of the deteriorating economic and social. This led to protests and demonstrations that ended with the fall of the ruling regime. In Tunisia which sparked the beginning of revolutions in many Arab countries, this is known as an Arab Spring. The question remains what are the real reasons that led to the Arab Spring and its effects? the causes of the Arabic spring May be varied, depending on the places, however the reasons can be a corruption in economic policies and demand social justice as the key motives and protests in the Arab world. This essay will discuss the most important reasons, and the effects of what is known as the Arab Spring.

Conflict Mapping the Tunisian Revolution from the perspective of the main advocates that took over this revolution, the youth of Tunisia through their participation in crucial events, reflected on the problems their country face in the transition to democracy. First the revolution was initiated by disillusioned youth who succeeded in bringing together a broad coalition of social and political forces against the Ben Ali’s regime. Second the coalition was able to bring down the regime due to longstanding and widespread discontent in the country that stemmed from factors such as: massive unemployment especially among the youth, unequal regional development and lack of equitable distribution of

In late 2010, a Tunisian named Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest against the poor economic situation in which he was living (CNN, 2011). Other Tunisians soon took the opportunity to resist their government and possible overthrow the leadership of Ben Ali. They took it as their responsibility to fight for the common good. Simple demonstration against the Tunisian government soon went ahead to an extent that Ben Ali had to leave the country. The events that followed the departures of the Tunisian president were the least expected. The revolts in Tunisia spurred citizens of other Arab nations to revolt against their governments. By the end of the years 2011, the Arab spring had claimed the presidency of three long serving presidents and

Although the people’s voice is being heard and changes are being made, blood flows down the streets as people are being killed violently everyday. Many people believe it would have been more beneficial if the Middle East had completely avoid the Arab Spring or at least have gone a more passive road. Through the history of the region, leaders of Arab countries have anchored their position to later become rich and

After the Arab Spring movements in the Middle East, which embodied people’s demands for more democratic governance, overthrew the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, the revolt, in 2011, eventually reached Libya where the central leader, Muammar Gaddafi, had exercised 42 years of dictatorship. Such movements inevitably led to the suppression from the central government and Gaddafi launched a full-scale campaign in cracking down the opposition. The crackdown eventually attracted international anxiety when sufficient evidence suggested that Gaddafi was planning a massacre of civilians in Benghazi. Therefore, in response to such predicted human rights disaster, the international community intervened in Libya for the universal cause of protecting human rights. And of course, human rights protection has always been a fundamental principle for American leadership and such intervention certainly manifested America’s resolution to promote human rights abroad, although there was time when the Untied States failed to embrace human rights. However, the disparity in policies and other national interests among the western countries (especially, France, the U.K. and the U.S.), the ignorance of the role played by the local Islamic extremists and the failures to stick to the UNSC resolution 1973 and explore political alternatives eventually led to the turmoil in current Libya.

By most accounts, the Arab Spring stared in Tunisia because an unlicensed male fruit vendor was humiliated by a female police officer. The humiliation was sufficient for the young man to set himself on fire in front of a government building (NPR, 2011). Protests ensued in Tunisia and the people demanded their president step down. The momentum continued across the borders of Tunisia and then deeper into the Arab world. The Arab world consists of 12 Middle Eastern countries along with 10 countries that are located in Northern Africa (Kalliny & Benmamoun, 2014). The region collectively is known as MENA; the countries of the Middle East and North Africa.

The Arab Spring has been a life changing phenomena, not only for the people who are attempting to overthrow their governments but for political scientists everywhere. The events originating in the North African country of Tunisia have led to the snowballing of several other Middle Eastern, predominantly Muslim, nation states. The figurative breaking point might have finally been reached as the oppressed peoples of the Middle East have risen up to overthrow long-standing dictatorial governments in hopes of revolutionary change; change that is subject to the will of the people.