The arab spring and its unintended effects in syria. The delay in this prophecy for two decades motivates us to question whether the arab spring is part of huntingtons third wave of democratization or a new fourth wave of democratization, or even a false start to democracy, as described by larry diamond. Protests that spread across the region in early 2011 started a longterm process of political and social transformation, marked in the initial stages primarily by political turbulence, economic difficulties, and even conflict. Read cnn s 2011 africa and middle east unrest fast facts and learn more about the arab spring antigovernment protests that began in tunisia in 2010. Between the arab spring and the gulf cooperation council. Notably, the first tibetan selfimmolation occurred 21 months before mohammed bouazizis tragic actxi. However, the recent arab uprisings, better known as the arab spring, have intensified volatility. The armed forces played a decisive role in many of the arab. The arab spring has affected next to all arab regimes forcing them to seek renewed legitimacy. The arab world is home to 5% of the global population, but accounts for half of all terrorist attacks. Arab regimes had been sitting on a demographic time bomb for decades.
Identifying the specific economic factors that are the roots of the arab spring is essential to understanding the peoples unhappiness with their economic conditions goldman 20. Instead, that spring has given way to a winter of economic stagnation and political violence that has plunged syria, libya and yemen into bloody civil war, has led to widespread unrest in egypt, iraq and bahrain, and threatens to destabilize arab governments from morocco to saudi arabia. Mapping the obama administrations response to the arab spring. The tide of mass protests that swept through the middle east in early 2011 highlighted the distinct role of modern informationcommunication technologies ict. The arab spring marked a discontinuity in regional history as well as in social. Sustainable democracy and the paradox of the arab spring. Of the four major arab spring protests analyzedtunisia, egypt, libya, and bahrain. Tendency amongst commentators and some scholars to view arab spring as a result of globalization of democratic norms, new media technologies, educated and globalised and digitalsavvy youth as main agent of change. The purpose of this article is to examine the causes, features, and transition processes of. The findings provide strong support for the validity of the claims. Understanding the arab spring university of warwick. Causes of the arab spring causes of the arab spring may be described as following.
Marxist circles and parties set up in the arab world with moscows help had little influence, and local liberation movements did not depend on the bolsheviks. The arab spring its impact on the region and on the middle east conference of the regime and within the regime, with the former comprising tunisia, egypt, and libya and the latter including jordan and saudi arabia. The arab spring of discontent einternational relations. Arab spring used their powers vehemently to crush the demonstrators and consequently the peaceful protesters also became violent. The arab spring may have awakened the entire middle east with a taste of democracy in a few countries, but syria has seen the adverse effects of it.
Tunisia and the arab spring overview nc essential standards. Egyptian military is not only in charge of the defence of the country but also. Student, department of legal, historical, economic and social. Blythe a thesis submitted to johns hopkins university in conformity with the requirements for. Keywords arab spring, pmp principle, new media, protest an important debate among those who study political protest and violence concerns the role that social media plays in the ability of challengers to mobilize for collective action. European commission and the two hosting universities nus and.
Exploring military defections and loyalty in egypt, bahrain, and syria sharon erickson nepstad department of sociology, university of new mexico. Toward better analysis of new media and the arab spring. Arab spring, while the demands of protestors and revolutionaries were more mundane. Some have even explicitly referenced north africa as a. Dissatisfaction with government services in arab spring. Analysis of the arab spring 3 blunders in state response, in particular using a heavyhanded approach and trying to crush opposition, had the reverse effect of galvanising more people to join the protests icg, 2011b and 2011d. To politically analyze the neverending arab spring, is a difficult task today as the arab spring continues to evolve and change by daily events. Regime changes have occurred in tunisia, egypt, and libya, while movements cnntinue to grow in both those countries as well as bahrain, syria, and yemen. Between expectations and disillusion henner furtig article outline 1 introduction 2 iranian foreign policy and the arab spring 3 reactions in the arab world 4 the struggle for the prerogative of interpretation of the arab spring inside iran 5 conclusion references.
This is an interesting index of unrest based off of the factors present in the initial arab spring. Like germany, england and france in the second world war, most of syria is destroyed. Arab spring is a political concept that spread widely in the media and academic art publications. In this landmark book, hamid dabashi argues that the revolutionary uprisings that have engulfed multiple countries and political climes from morocco to iran and from syria to yemen, were driven by a delayed defiance a point of rebellion against domestic tyranny and.
The arab spring unexpectedly developed in late 2010 with peaceful protests in a number of arab countries against longstanding, entrenched regimes, and rapid political change across the region ensued. True, arab protests and uprisings have first and foremost brought to the fore domestic political and socio. Polyvocal, leaderless and using new styles of communication, the post arab spring voices do not seek power but seek to defy the state and push it to address the hitherto taboo topics such as. The reasons and economic and political consequences of arab. Triggers, dynamics and prospects stephan rosiny on 17 december 2010, the selfimmolation of tunisian vegetable vendor mohammed bouazizi sparked the arab spring. The arab spring is thus serving as a trigger, rather than a driver, for further democratic reforms in the region. Arab spring, wave of prodemocracy protests and uprisings that took place in the middle east and north africa beginning in 2010, challenging some of the regions entrenched authoritarian regimes.
Meanwhile, egyptians rose in revolt as strikes across the country brought daily life to a halt and toppled the government. Youth frustration and the arab spring 3 mohammed bouazizi, the young street vendor who set himself ablaze in public in late 2010, did not intend to start a revolution in tunisia. Momani bessma arab spring a genuine revolutionary movement. Perhaps the most influential writer in this respect is the iraqi muzaffar alnawab born 1934, who left no arab government unscathed by his bitter sarcasm, written in both iraqi vernacular and standard arabic. The blame lies with the chinese government and its very hard line. The arab revolts are one dimension of the strategic change that is affecting the. They also wanted more democracy, and end to corruption, and economic opportunity. Mutual trade between arab economies remains minimal, hovering around merely ten percent of total merchandise trade. Disturbances have ranged from protests to full civil war and the overthrow of government. Khamis and vaughn, cyberactivitism in the egyptian revolution. Roots and causes of the arab uprisings there is a consensu s among politica l analysts regardin g the cocktai l of major factors that, when combined, created the socia l explosio n known as the 2011 arab uprisings. Pdf on the economic causes of the arab spring and its.
Tunisia and morocco are different in that they are more diversified and depend on agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, and mining. Its causes and consequences 3 arab countries barany, 2011. His most recent works arethe international politics of the persian gulf2011, and innovation in islam. He certainly could not have foreseen that he would motivate the peoples of the arab world1 to seek social change in the collection of demonstrations. The middle east and north africa mena have long been laden with tensions and instabilities. Arab spring research guide and notes sheet targets. International journal of development and conflict, vol. Jan 27, 2016 by the time it became clear to the world that egypts arab spring had gone terribly wrong, that the seemingly hollywoodlike drama of goodguy protesters triumphing over badguy dictator had. February 20 preface by annemarie slaughter a s s oc i a t e d p r e s s be n c u r ti s in partnership with. To gauge the class prior knowledge of the arab spring, ask for a show of hands as to how many students have heard the term arab spring on the news. The geopolitics of the region grc paper the arab spring has yet to give way to the hopedfor glorious summer, but for iran it has already turned into a winter of discontent. The roots and causes of the 2011 arab uprisings kamal eldin osman salih abstract.
Rethinking western policies in light of the arab uprisings. Causes, consequences, and implications if, one day, a people desire to live, then fate will answer their call. Egyptian revolution, also known as arab spring or arab uprising, was a shock for international community because egypt has been seen as one of the strongest military state in north africa region. This concept is used as an indication to a wide range of uprisings in the middle east and north africa mena region during the past two years.
The causes of the arab spring, or as some call it, arab awakening, were many and longgathering. In the field of the graduation thesis assigned in some faculties of humanities, there has become increasingly common the choice, by the candidates, of the research centered on the socalled arab uprisings and the whole series of social and political upheavals that have been attributed by the global media the definition of the arab spring. Along with the decrease in production, the demographic boom was also responsible for increasing unemployment. The gaddafi archives libya before the arab spring view gallery an exhibition of photographs, documents and artefacts from the human rights watch archive paints a portrait of libya in the four decades prior to the arab spring. Understanding the dynamics of the arab spring polsoz. Saudi arabia and the arab spring ren rieger gulf research center context, the decisive factors are geographic proximity, the nature of the concerned states political system, and the quality of the particular regimes relations with the kingdom and iran. Home this guide lists online and print sources for what has become known as the arab spring, the popular revolutionary wave in the middle east and north africa that started in december 2010. These words and stories in turn affected the selfimage of arab societies. The international dimension of the arab spring istituto affari. Mar 18, 2017 the arab spring unexpectedly developed in late 2010 with peaceful protests in a number of arab countries against longstanding, entrenched regimes, and rapid political change across the region ensued. Demystifying the arab spring parsing the differences between tunisia, egypt, and libya lisa anderson in tunisia, protesters escalated calls for the restoration of the countrys suspended constitution. Political and economic development in most arab states simply could not keep up with the staggering increase in the population, as the ruling. In addition to keeping up with the online presence of larger news organizations, arab american media are forced to compete with usergenerated content that is rapidly available to audiences. The arab spring and the saudiled counterrevolution by mehran kamrava mehran kamrava is director of the center for international and regional studies at georgetown universitys school of foreign service in qatar.
Inform students that they are going to learn about a recent struggle for freedom that took place during the arab spring in tunisia. Consequences of the arab spring for the future of euro. This research paper examines thoroughly and critically all the causes and facilitators of the arab spring from twitter and facebook to the relative deprivation of the numerous youth in the arab world. New media and conflict after the arab spring united states. Candidate in near eastern studies at princeton university and an associate scholar at fpri.
The protest has been referred to as the arab spring and for others. The arab spring and its effects on the region, the united states, and the international community by devin m. The economic consequences of the arab spring by mohsin khan atlantic council rafik hariri center for the middle east the popular uprisings that swept the middle east in early 2011 dramatically altered the political landscape of the region with the overthrow of autocratic regimes in egypt, libya, tunisia, and yemen. The arab spring was a phenomenon that shocked the international community. This paper argues that we ought to understand the arab spring as transformative revolutionary movement, but one that will be faced with numerous bumps in the road ahead. Justice and human dignity were not priorities in most states. A parsimonious explanation of recent contentious politics 2 whether american democratization policies have supported the protests barnes, 20 and described the importance of safetyvalve elections in autocratic regimes such as morocco buehler, 20. This is an arab revolution 27 atlantic centrism 30 is cairo the next new york. And, even as the regions trade with the rest of the world, notably south asia and turkey, has expanded considerably, the share of intra arab. Demystifying the arab spring uc san diego social sciences. Yezid sayigh is a senior associate at the carnegie middle east centre in beirut.
Understanding the arab spring nicola pratt, 24 november 2011 1. For decades, arab populations had faced repression of free speech, human rights abuses, economic mismanagement, corruption and stifling of political dissent. The economic motivations of the arab spring andrea ansani vittorio daniele the final version of this paper has been published in. This article addresses the approaches of turkey, iran, syria, and iraq in dealing with the kurdish issue, with a special focus on historical background. The bloody outcome of the arab spring was not inevitable, but the systemic crisis that looms for some may be. Ascendancy frustrated gulf research center 5 introduction. Guide to writing a dissertation on the arab spring il. The arab spring demonstrated that public opinion can powerfully affect the regions political life. Change and resistance in the middle east examines these revolutions and their aftermath. In december 2010, protests began against the autocratic government in the northern african country of tunisia.
Apr 01, 2012 this pioneering explanation of the arab spring will define a new era of thinking about the middle east. Euromediterranean relations and the arab spring archive of. We focus on the arab countries in north africa algeria, egypt, libya. The reasons and economic and political consequences of. Between the islamic state and the nationstate the brookings project on u. Issue brief aftermath of the arab spring in north africa exports, and 98 percent of government revenues. Iran finds its revolutionary message diluted and overtaken by events. Arab spring research guide and notes sheet introduction. He returned to his country in 2011 after forty years in exile.
Constitutional courts after the arab spring 3 the center for constitutional transitions at nyu law constitutional transitions generates and mobilizes knowledge in support of constitution building. Pdf the middle east and north africa mena have long been laden with tensions and instabilities. Reflections from october 2011 to september 20 67 1. On the economic causes of the arab spring and its possible developments. Arab spring in tunisia and how the movement spread throughout the region. Reasons for arab spring based on views in developing. The armed forces played a decisive role in many of the arab uprisings, particularly the early ones. The arab springs impact on the middle east has been profound, even if in many places its final outcome might not become clear for at least a generation. Against this background, the scope of action enjoyed by arab leaders has been considerably diminished. Six years later, little remains of the hopes that the west saw in the arab spring. The unsexy truth about why the arab spring failed vox.
The role of social media in the arab uprisings pew. What was meant to be an uprising for change turned into a bloody, brutal and endless civil war. It is too optimistic to think that existing dilemmas can be easily resolved in this new and changing environment, but the arab spring may provide strong momentum for change. The common slogan of the protesters throughout arab spring was the people want to bring down the regime aissa, 2012. And their night will then begin to fade, and their chains break and fall. If the latest arab awakening was about jobs and justice, then political reforms, unless accompanied by a leveling of the economic playing field, are unlikely to be sufficient on their own.
The reasons and economic and political consequences of arab spring 43 egypt, where arab spring lasted longer, is one of the largest countries in africa with its advantages such as its location, tourism revenues and logistics moaddel, 2012. Mcginnis project adviser only a work of the united states government is not subject to. The economics of the arab spring and its aftermath world bank. The arab spring jason marshall introduction the arab spring is a blanket term to cover a multitude of uprisings and protests in the middle east that began in the winter of 2010 and continue today. Noted authorities writing specifically for this volume contribute chapters focusing on. Starting with tunisia in december of 2010, the citizens of egypt, libya, and iran all voiced dissatisfaction with their governing leaders within the same period. The arab spring and climate change a climate and security correlations series edited by caitlin e. Between the arab spring and the gulf cooperation council by samuel helfont and tally helfont samuel helfont is a ph. There have been protests in more than a dozen african capitals demanding greater political pluralism, transparency, and accountability following the launch of the arab spring. At the eve of the arab spring, one out of four egyptians and tunisians young was out of employment.
The economic misery in tunisia where the arab spring was initially sparked in late 2010 is not an isolated occurrence in mena. Nonetheless, irrespective of whether the 2011 arab spring will. Arab spring has been regarded as an arab phenomenon from the outset, explanations that are given of the arab spring have been ad hoc and are not representative of the entire arab world. A bumpy road ahead pdf by hassan hakimian, director of the london middle east institute and reader, economics department, soas underscores the underlying importance of the economic conditions facing the new republics, such as egypt and tunisia, which are emerging as a result of the arab spring. It began in response to oppressive regimes and a low standard of living, starting with protests in tunisia noueihed, 2011.
Hundreds of thousands of tunisians took to the streets calling for an end to authoritarian rule. The arab spring and political change in tunisia and egypt. Twitter, facebook and other new media offer ways for the arab american news media to reach audiences, but also pose a threat to smaller outlets. Thi s researc h articl e attempts to scrutinize the nature and cause s of the ara b uprising s which too k people by surpris e globall y throughou t 2011 and int o 2012. Instead, a new arab political identity with an antidespotic, pluralis t and democracyseekin g approach is dawning. This article was first crossposted on gr in october 2015. An index of unrest in the arab world by the economist online, february 9, 2011. In addition, the article discusses how this issue affects relations among the aforementioned. Morocco and tunisia and the levant region lebanon, jordan and syria. It concerns the us government role in instigating, funding and coordinating the arab spring revolutions. The author is not an employee of the united states government.
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