Arab Spring
Introduction
The ‘Arab’ spring of 2011 is a wave of revolutions taking place in the Arab world. It has its own and unique characteristics. The name is an allusion to the 1848 “Spring time of the Peoples”. The 1848 revolution was also a political upheaval throughout Europe and it spread to almost 50 countries including Latin America; whereas the cause of Arab Spring is also “dissatisfaction with political leadership”. That is why a comparison is drawn between these two revolutions. This term was then reintroduced by the BBC Middle East analyst in 2010, Roger Hardy; following the revolt in the streets of Cairo which eventually led to the Egyptian Revolution stepping down the Western backed dictator President Hosni Mubarak. Hence Arab Spring/Arab Uprisings/Arab Awakening can be defined as: “The recent revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world.”
Arab uprisings launched an era of sweeping political changes in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. These uprisings demand for fall of longtime leaders and strong government that can bring new opportunities for reform and democratic transition. The incident that gave severe blow to Arab spring was the death of a Tunisian. Tarek al-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010. His act became a catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring, inciting demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country. The public's anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death, leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power. To date, these revolutions are ongoing following by many regime changes i-e from dictatorship to democracy. The countries that have yet suffered most from these revolutions include mainly Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria.
Causes of Arab Spring:
No doubt these revolutions are result of many economic, social and
The ‘Arab’ spring of 2011 is a wave of revolutions taking place in the Arab world. It has its own and unique characteristics. The name is an allusion to the 1848 “Spring time of the Peoples”. The 1848 revolution was also a political upheaval throughout Europe and it spread to almost 50 countries including Latin America; whereas the cause of Arab Spring is also “dissatisfaction with political leadership”. That is why a comparison is drawn between these two revolutions. This term was then reintroduced by the BBC Middle East analyst in 2010, Roger Hardy; following the revolt in the streets of Cairo which eventually led to the Egyptian Revolution stepping down the Western backed dictator President Hosni Mubarak. Hence Arab Spring/Arab Uprisings/Arab Awakening can be defined as: “The recent revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world.”
Arab uprisings launched an era of sweeping political changes in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. These uprisings demand for fall of longtime leaders and strong government that can bring new opportunities for reform and democratic transition. The incident that gave severe blow to Arab spring was the death of a Tunisian. Tarek al-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010. His act became a catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring, inciting demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country. The public's anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death, leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power. To date, these revolutions are ongoing following by many regime changes i-e from dictatorship to democracy. The countries that have yet suffered most from these revolutions include mainly Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria.
Causes of Arab Spring:
No doubt these revolutions are result of many economic, social and