Causes behind the Arab Spring - Essay Example

The entire Middle East has been reeling under internal conflicts and civil war for quite some time now. Many of the so-called dictators in many Arab nations including Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and Jordan faced the wrath of the citizens and the streets witnessed bloody clashes between rebels and government troops. However, it is not possible to pinpoint one reason behind the ‘Arab Spring’. In fact, As Ayoob (2012) points out, there are a number of factors behind the uprising; both internal and external.

The first one, according to many Arab and other independent thinkers (as cited in Ayoob, 2012), is the suspected role of the US; and it is alleged that the Arab Spring is the result of the destabilization operations funded and organized by the US. In fact, nations like Iraq, Syria, and Iran were obstacles in the path of establishing a greater Israel which could control the whole Middle East. Thus, the best way to do so was to topple the ruling regime by working from within. In order to do so, it was necessary to create conflict between the various religious and ethnic groups by entering the nation in the name of protecting the minorities.

A perfect example is Tunisia, which was once considered the best Economy in Africa. However, as Tunisian leader Ben Ali was in close contact with the West and NATO, it was easy for the West to manipulate the internal affairs. As Lalmi (2011) reports, soon, the corruption of Ben Ali was leaked through Wikileaks, and mass demonstrations hit the streets in no time. Soon, Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia. Very similar was the case of Egypt and Hosni Mubarak. Evidently, he was a man who was hated by most Arabs for his support of the West.

Also, there were many more reasons ranging from his privatization of natural resources to foreign investors, supporting the attack on Iraq, and opposition to Hezbollah’s and Hamas’ armed fight against Israel. In order to promote uprisings, as Nixon (2011) reported in New York Times, various American groups including International Republican Institute, National Democratic Institute and Freedom House, and National Endowment for Democracy and Project on Middle East Democracy provided technical training in the use of social networking and mobile technology.

In fact, the situation was very similar in Libya where Gaddafi was foolish enough to try to establish an African Union which would jeopardize the re-colonization plan, and to develop a new currency to rival the American Dollar and the European Euro. In the bloody civil war, the West ensured that Gaddafi was killed instead of captured so that the secrets would disappear with Gaddafi. However, the Yemeni and Bahraini revolutions were two unexpected aftermaths of the Arab Spring. As is seen, the revolutions in both the cases are rather peaceful and genuine.

However, one cannot deny the fact that there were various internal catalysts ranging from inflation, unemployment, political and religious suppression, lack of political participation, tyranny, social imbalances, and restrictions on communication. So, when the external forces helped the people in these areas, the tyrants had to flee for lives. Still, it is highly unlikely to see stable and democratic governments in these nations. Either the West will manage to have puppet governments there, or the governments will be the creation of religious fundamentalists.

In either case, the conflicts in the area are highly likely to continue for some time ahead. ReferencesAyoob, M. (2012). Assessing the Arab Spring in its second year, April 6. The Middle East Foreign Policy. Retrieved from http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/04/06/assessing_the_arab_spring_in_its_second_yearLalmi, L. (2011). Tunisia Rising, 20 Jan. The Nation. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/article/157897/tunisia-rising#Nixon, R. (2011). “US groups helped nurture Arab Uprisings”, New York Times, April 14.

Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/world/15aid.html?pagewanted=all