The Arab Spring (2024/2025) PDF

COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENTS OF GCC: THE ARAB SPRING FALL 2024/2025 BACKGROUND In early 2011 came the events of the Arab Spring. The Arab Awakening or the Arab Spring is a concept denoting a revolutionary sweeping tide of demonstrations, protests and other forms of opposition to the authorities (both...

COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENTS OF GCC: THE ARAB SPRING FALL 2024/2025 BACKGROUND In early 2011 came the events of the Arab Spring. The Arab Awakening or the Arab Spring is a concept denoting a revolutionary sweeping tide of demonstrations, protests and other forms of opposition to the authorities (both violent and non- violent), riot and prolonged civil wars in the Arab territories which started on December 18, 2010. HOW DID THE ARAB SPRING BEGIN? Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old street vendor from a small town in central Tunisia, was selling fruit from a simple cart. On December 17, 2010, a government inspector harassed Bouazizi and threatened to confiscate his fruit. When Bouazizi resisted, the official slapped him and seized his property. Despite several attempts to log a complaint that morning, Bouazizi was beaten twice. He was unable to retrieve the few possessions. Humiliated and ignored, he stood outside the local governor’s office, soaked his clothes in paint thinner, and tragically set himself on fire. HOW DID THE ARAB SPRING BEGIN? Mohamed Bouazizi died and became ‘the hero of Tunisia’. A symbol of revolt inspiring violent protests in countries across the region. HOW DID THE ARAB SPRING BEGIN? His gesture went viral, sparking protests against: 1. Poverty (The cost of living) 2. Corruption 3. The country’s authoritarian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali The protests overthrew the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in just 10 days, becoming the first leader of an Arab nation to be pushed out by popular protests. He fled to Saudi Arabia. The protests inspired a wave of revolts across the Arab world as people rose up to protest against authoritarianism, corruption, and poverty. EGYPT On January 4, 2011, another outpouring of protest began in Cairo, capital of the Arab world’s most populous country, Egypt. Hosni Mubarak had ruled there for nearly three decades. And most of Mubarak’s rule was under a so-called Emergency Law. It effectively criminalized any political activity not authorized by the government. This left Egyptians with no independent press, no protections against random imprisonment, and no way to organize against the government without risking arrest, torture, or worse. It was little wonder, then, that when an estimated half-a-million citizens packed Cairo’s Tahrir Square on January 25, 2011, to demand Mubarak’s removal, the government was caught completely off-guard. By February 11, Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign and transferred his powers to the military. Six months later he was put on trial. SYRIA Peaceful protests in Syria began in March 2011. However, they were met with a brutal response by the Assad regime, which vowed to maintain power at all costs. Bashar Al-Assad hails from a minority group called the Alawite, which claim close ties to Iran and its Shia branch of Islam. What began as an uprising quickly devolved into a brutal civil war, fueled by outside interests. The historical tie between the Alawite and Shia Islam prompted the Iranian government to lend financial and material support to the Assad regime, including through its proxy Lebanese militia Hezbollah. YEMEN In Yemen, following Ben Ali’s removal from Tunisia, small-scale demonstrations demanded President Ali Saleh’s removal. After Mubarak’s fall, a month later, protests grew, now being led by a new group of youth and civil society activists. They initially demanded reform rather than Ali Saleh’s overthrow. Saleh used a combination of repression and promises of political compromise and reform to hang on to power. He resisted as much as he could. He was injured in an attack on 3 June, he fled to Saudi Arabia, but returned on 23 September. After several days of negotiations, Ali Saleh signed an internationally mediated agreement to transfer power to Vice President Hadi in exchange for immunity from prosecution. SAUDI ARABIAS ROLE IN THE ARAB SPRING King Abdullah, is regarded in the Arab world as a supporter of wider Arab interests. If the Saudis have played a role in the ‘Arab Spring’ at all, it has been to support fellow governments under pressure: 1. Saudi soldiers were sent to Bahrain to help the government. 2. Saudi Arabia allowed Tunisia’s exiled leader Zin Al Abidine Ben Ali to settle in the kingdom. 3. The Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh flew to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment after being seriously injured in a rocket attack on his compound. ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA The Qatari-based Al-Jazeera satellite channel continued to air reports on protests in Egypt and Tunisia despite the regimes’ pleas to the Qatari government to stop it. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and cell phones, were widely used to organize the revolts and link the protesters to each other and the outside world and to create awareness in the face of the state attempt at crackdown and Internet censorship. It was called the ‘Twitter/Facebook Revolution’. More crucially, media played a role in preparing for the rebellions over a number of years and even decades, by facilitating the circulation of ideas in national and global spaces and challenging state monopolies of information. ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA The protests in all MENA countries have shown or shared similar methods. The civil resistance showed similar patterns involving strikes, demonstrations, marches, and the use of social media. A major slogan of those who staged demonstrations has been al- sha‘b yurīdu isqāṭ al-niẓām (the people want to bring down the regime). REASONS BEHIND THE PROTESTS ‘Arab Spring’ is generally believed to have been caused by the way and manner by which rulers ran the administrative affairs of local governments, though others have linked it to the general income inequality. Several backgrounds have led to the protests, including factors like: 1. Absolute monarchic system of administration 2. Violations of absolute rights of citizens 3. Political mismanagement and nepotism 4. Economic downturn 5. Unemployment and severe poverty REBELLIONS SUCCESSFUL OR UNSUCCESSFUL? Some rebellions were successful in overthrowing their governments, while others weren’t. Because in some cases regime reaction put a stop to the rebellion, in others it fueled it. The rebellions’ success or failure also depended on whether regimes managed to retain the loyalty of their key allies, most crucially the army and security services. The regime leaders’ reaction to the rebellions, which was partly about personal choice and character, was crucial in determining how they developed. REBELLIONS SUCCESSFUL OR UNSUCCESSFUL? For example: the response of Ben Ali was slow and weak, possibly because he was taken by surprise. In contrast, Gaddafi’s regime reacted quickly and decisively, which increased its chances of survival (though it also raised the level of violence and invited outside intervention). However, while toughness and determination may be effective, an excessive reaction can have the opposite result. For example: In Syria, regime violence ‘almost certainly has been the primary reason behind the protest movement’s growth and radicalization. REBELLIONS SUCCESSFUL OR UNSUCCESSFUL? Regime behavior was a matter of choice by the leadership but also reflected deeper, structural realities. In Tunisia and Egypt, where the regimes were overthrown without outside intervention, the security services stood aside and did not attempt to crush the protests—while the army was encouraged to move against the president. In Tunisia, the army refused to open fire on the demonstrators and was instrumental in pushing Ben Ali out. Subsequently, it withdrew from the political scene. In Egypt, the army’s position during the protests was uncertain, but it eventually chose to remove Mubarak. DEBATE QUESTION “Social media was to blame for the outbreak of the Arab Spring.” GROUP E GROUP B FOR AGAINST 1. Riyam Nashwan Abdallah Nashwan 1. Mira Majid Mohammed N M Belselah 2. Amar Bassam Almahmoud 2. Maznah A M S Almarri 3. Maryam Shihab Hamad Majed Alqasimi 3. Amira Ahmed Mousa Shambeh Almaazmi 4. Maitha Rashed Abdulla Buhassan Alshamsi