Back in march 2011, cnn sent a four person team to bahrain to cover the arab spring. This is precisely why alternative media sites are taking off. One region, several puzzles, and many explanations volume. The reasons and economic and political consequences of. In 1992, our editors prepared the first issue for publication at georgetown universitys center for contemporary arab studies.
Instead, a new arab political identity with an antidespotic, pluralis t and democracyseekin g approach is dawning. Demystifying the arab spring university of california. Arab spring research guide and notes sheet introduction. Over the past two years, ongoing political transitions in many arab countries have led to social unrest and an economic downturn. The reasons of arab spring arab spring was triggered by economic hardships and peoples democratic aspirations stepan and linz, 20. The youth bulge and arab unemployment the arab world has been facing a demographic trap for nearly three decades. Zoubi, director general of the islamic world academy of sciences, and daniel schaffer, public information officer of twas, in an article published in the most. Egypt in a time of revolution is without doubt a major contribution to the scholarly understanding of the arab spring and a valuable addition to the contentious politics literature. The fiqh of revolution supplies legal guidance on peaceful rebellion under contemporary conditions, addressing itself to a 21st century world order shaped by new internet media and post. However, the economic models chosen by the successive regimes were ineffective in. By early 2011, tunisian president bin ali had stepped down, but far from abating, the revolutionary fervor against the rule of privileged elites in tunisia was getting stronger and soon. A year of revolution a year ago, a tunisian fruitseller set himself on fire after being humiliated by a police officer. Egypt, libya, jordan, yemen, and tunisia, along with additional examples.
Arab spring, while the demands of protestors and revolutionaries were more mundane. While a set of factors unique to the mena region aided a revolution domino effect, a combination of structural, domestic, and external factors equally unique to sub. Turkeys role in the arab spring and the syrian conflict tpq. But their purpose, relative success, and outcome remain hotly disputed in arab countries, among foreign observers, and between world powers looking to cash in on the changing map of the middle east.
Dec 20, 2011 science in the arab spring but progress will only take place if the movement stays true to its abiding principles of democracy and transparency. The events came to be known as the arab spring and they forever altered prior conventions. Algeria versus the arab spring frederic volpi not only did the algerian regime survive the arab spring, it hardly deviated from its normal methods of authoritarian governancepatronage, pseudodemocratization, and effective use of the security apparatus. 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. The arab spring was a series of prodemocracy uprisings that enveloped several largely muslim countries, including tunisia, morocco, syria, libya, egypt and shows this day in. Social media and social mobilisation in the middle. This issue marks the passage of twenty years since the founding of arab studies journal. The book asks why the penetration rate for social media differs in different countries. Local youths quickly protested out of sympathy, and the protests. Google scholar argues, the arab spring gives hamas the opportunity to explore the new geography of freed arab peoples endorsing justice for the palestinian cause and lasting peace for all. Demonstrators expressing political and economic grievances faced violent crackdowns by their countries security forces. The arab spring gave our young people an opportunity to display their online skills, as they used the internet as a primary vehicle to share ideas and mobilize. The arab spring represented a rejection of the secular, socialist, panarabism, nationalist, military regimes that had come to power in the period from the 1950s through the 1970s, and which have since devolved into little more that corrupt, crony governments ruling by brute force and a pervasive security apparatus. In general, past episodes of political instability were.
The roots and causes of the 2011 arab uprisings kamal eldin osman salih abstract. In this article, we first reexamine the relationship between democracy and the twin tolerations in the worlds muslimmajority countries that are democraciesindonesia, turkey, senegal and tunisia, as well as in muslimminority india. 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. While most of the 22 nations that make up the arab world have been buffeted to some degree by the arab spring, the six most profoundly affected egypt, iraq, libya, syria, tunisia and yemen. Causes of the arab spring causes of the arab spring may be described as following. Pdf analysis and background of the arab spring in libya. Arising in large part in reaction to economic stresses, societal changes, and entrenched corrupt and repressive rule, the arab spring began in tunisia in dec. What does the arab spring imply for democratization theory. In early 2011, a wave of uprisings swept through the middle east, ushering in a year of protest and radical change. The gcc in the mediterranean in light of the arab spring mediterranean paper series december 2012 silvia colombo,1 kristian coates ulrichsen,2 shafeeq ghabra,3 shadi hamid,4 and eman ragab5 1.
All three election results have revealed a similar pattern with islamist parties coming out on top. Science in the arab spring but progress will only take place if the movement stays true to its abiding principles of democracy and transparency. Amir faisal, the leader of the 1916 arab revolt and a firm believer in the idea of arab unity had hypothesized that once the victors of world war i would concede arab independence and help them establish their local competence, the natural influences of race, language and interest would soon draw all arabs into one people. Long before 2011, this islamist body very different from islamist groups in other countries had been developing in a. In contrast to the prevailing approach found in much of the research on arab society in israel, which focuses only on relations between the arab minority and the state, the forthcoming book offers a new perspective, weighing the impact of ongoing trends in the region namely instability and the disintegration of the arab region both in. The critical descriptions, explanations, and analyses of the arab spring rank. Spring was a movement of violent and violence less protests and civil wars. Arab spring news, research and analysis the conversation. The media played a key role in mobilizing the arab uprisings of 201011, but played a. Its origins, evolution and consequences four years on. Discourses on solidarity, the sociocultural revolution, and the political revolution in egypt, tunisia, and yemen. 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. The article presents two broad theoretical principles.
The gcc in the mediterranean in light of the arab spring mediterranean paper series december 2012 silvia colombo,1 kristian coates ulrichsen,2. As the second anniversary of mohamed bouazizis tragic selfsacrifice approaches, analyses of the arab springs underlying causes and longerterm implications are starting to proliferate. 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. Hundreds of thousands of tunisians took to the streets calling for an end to authoritarian rule. The oxford handbook of arab novelistic traditions is the most comprehensive treatment of the subject to date. 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. Saharan africa have enabled the latter to evade the domino effect of the arab spring. Egyptians remember the 18 days of protests that removed. The argument we are making here is that political change such as the initial protests associated with the arab spring leads to changes in the use of the social media e. The central argument emphasizes contextual regional uniqueness. Arab spring protesters reflect on hosni mubaraks legacy. Meanwhile, egyptians rose in revolt as strikes across the country brought daily life to a halt and toppled the government.
The arab spring geography will be largely populated by islamist power brokers whose valuesystems place the palestinian cause amongst their political. This content was written by a student and assessed as part of a university degree. Violent and nonviolent actions done by citizens of different nations have caused. This article traces the role of the media in the arab transitions across three distinct.
They also wanted more democracy, and end to corruption, and economic opportunity. Search for articles by this author associate professor department of education policy, organisation and leadership university of illinois at urbanachampaign 332 education building 10 s. Article information, pdf download for social media and social. The arab countries have witnessed a major events and changes that have greatly influenced the internal and external policies of the arab countries and their relationship with the biggest country represented by the united states of america. It seeks to provide an account of how patterns of stance are conveyed in newspaper opinion articles on the arab spring originally published in english in the washington post and the new york times and then how these patterns are reconveyed in full translations of these articles for two quality arabiclanguage newspapers with divergent. Pdf when the arab spring reached syria, its pharaoh, bashar alassad, was in no mood to give up easily. Thinking about hybrid regimes, journal of democracy, 2 2002. Analysis and background of the arab spring in libya article pdf available in european researcher 3912. One year before protests took down tunisias autocrat, paul rivlin wrote in his book, arab economies in the twentyfirst century, tunisia is in many respects a model for other arab countries to follow. Following the 1848 metaphor, turkey emerged as the most vocal albeit unsuccessful supporter of the revolutionary forces during the arab spring, whereas iran and russia gradually emerged as the most decisive and successful supporters of the. The arab spring and the changing balance of global power. Introduction during the winter of 2010 and the spring of 2011, the world watched as prodemocracy protesters across north africa and the middle east rose up. Arab springaffected countries suffered even more due to the 2008 economic crisis.
In the third section we note how the clustering of the arab spring into a number of different country trajectories now looks ever more. It juxtaposed two sides, those advocating rigid adherence to the status quo. Revolutions throughout the region could not have taken place with such speed and strength, without the organizing capabilities of young people using social media. Jul 01, 2015 this article examines how the events of the arab spring have helped give birth to a new juristic subfield known as the fiqh of revolution. First, all are monarchies based upon tribal, clan and.
This paper examines comparable historical episodes of political instability to derive implications for the near and mediumterm economic outlook in the arab countries in transition. Writing about the arab spring july 01, 2011 education resources. And not only have they come on top, they have done so with a wide margin. The goal of this article is to place the role that social media plays in collective action within a more general theoretical structure, using the events of the arab spring as a case study.
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. In the aftermath of the arab spring, democracy in the arab world seems farther away today than at any point in the last 25 years. Between the islamic state and the nationstate the brookings project on u. Arab spring simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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. Article pdf available in the journal of north african studies 164. By the end of the 1950s, most arab countries had gained their independence. The egyptian khalid alkhamissis widely translated 20062007 book taxi is a collection of conversations in the censorshipfree space of taxi cabs, each one expressing the anger and desperation of the entire population, which was eventually paired with the creativity of young egyptians on the streets and squares of liberation new womens literature. Later, similar rebellions followed in libya, bahrain, syria and yemen.
The arab spring was a series of antigovernment protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across the middle east in early 2011. The arab spring was a revolutionary wave of both violent and nonviolent demonstrations, protests, riots, coups and civil wars in north africa. Jan 29, 2018 six years later, little remains of the hopes that the west saw in the arab spring. Civil trends in israels arab society in light of the arab. List of books and articles about arab spring online. 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. Country by country following the fall of leaders in tunisia, egypt, libya and yemen, unrest has. Economic protests also took place in the gaza strip. The evolving ruling bargain in the middle east by kamrava, mehran. If it is to ever arrive, it will likely be through a more evolutionary and elitedriven process. It began in response to oppressive regimes and a low standard of living, starting with protests in tunisia noueihed, 2011.
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. Jun 19, 20 though not without limitations, social constructivism remains one of the most useful theories in examining the arab spring as a response to social forces and a globalization of norms. The arab spring as a challenge to political science springerlink. The arab spring has now entered its second phase with democratic elections taking place in tunisia, egypt and morocco. For a complete list of articles until 2007, download the asj articles index pdf, 187 kb. The arab spring, digital youth and the challenges of. The event set off uprisings across north africa and the. The 201820 arab protests, also referred to as the new arab spring, arab summer or arab spring 2. The examples given above of countries that could potentially be classified according to the above interpretation are discussed in detail in sections 4.
The arab spring started in countries that actually had economic growth. Online arab spring responds to this question, considering five countries. 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. In december 2010, protests began against the autocratic government in the northern african country of tunisia. Arab spring used their powers vehemently to crush the demonstrators and consequently the peaceful protesters also became violent. Arab spring economist world news, politics, economics. The common slogan of the protesters throughout arab spring was the people want to bring down the regime aissa, 2012. Mar 14, 2017 the revolutionary uprisings that swept the arab middle east in the 2010s are sometimes compared to the revolutionary uprisings of 1848 in europe. Dec 16, 2011 the arab spring has now entered its second phase with democratic elections taking place in tunisia, egypt and morocco. Judging by economic data alone, the revolutions of the 2011 arab spring should have never happened. In scope, the book encompasses the genesis of the arabic novel in the second half of the nineteenth century and its development to the present in every arabicspeaking country and in arab immigrant destinations on six continents. The arab spring is a ensemble of popular protests of highly variable magnitude and intensity, which have occurred in many countries of the arab world since december 2010.
The term arab spring refers to the spring of nations in 1848, to which it was compared. Arab spring, democratic transition, islamism, political culture, religion, secularism. The uae, the arab spring and different types of dissent. Aug 11, 2016 while most of the 22 nations that make up the arab world have been buffeted to some degree by the arab spring, the six most profoundly affected egypt, iraq, libya, syria, tunisia and yemen. The arab spring was a series of prodemocracy uprisings that enveloped several largely muslim countries, including tunisia, morocco, syria, libya, egypt and shows this day in history. Democratization theory and the arab spring journal of. The arab spring of 2011 originally began with the jasmine revolution in tunisia, ignited by public outrage over the suicide of a street vendor in december 2010.
Youth frustration and the arab spring 5 spring will require the participation of youth, as well as policies and programs that address the concerns of youth in both the short and longterm. These different stances by the armed forces largely explain the different outcomes of the revolutions. One outcome was the initiation of a vibrant legal discourse on islamic laws stance on revolution. January 25, 2014 ap european qualifying assignment arab spring the revolutionary performances of antigovernment protest and counterdemonstrations performed in the arab world that commenced on december 17th, 2010 are well known as the arab spring. Tunisias voters go to the polls in arab springs first election. They provide the only outlets left for genuine journalism. Tunisias jasmine revolution and the arab spring are unfolding amidst the resurgence of five sets of debates over the proper role of the international community in democracy promotion efforts abroad, including in the middle east and north africa, which were once thought to be impervious to democratic change. To find out whether the arab spring caused a significant change in the usage of social media, we conducted a regression discontinuity analysis with two independent variables. In the uae and oman, however, searches for facebook grew steadily and there were no particular changes during the arab spring. These national revolutionary movements are also called arab revolutions, arab uprisings or even the.
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