Reasons and Factors behind the Arab Revolutions - Case Study Example

Impact of Arab Spring on the Dynamics in the Middle East and North Africa SUMMARY: The emergence of Arab Spring has brought many changes in the Arab region. The wave of revolution has changed the perceptions of the international community about the Arab politics. There were many factors behind the revolution which shaped the history of the Arab region such as poverty, high unemployment, inflation, corruption and unjust treatment by the government. Arab Spring has put an end on the dictatorship and absolute monarchy. New political groups and ideology have been formed as a result of this revolution. Not only this, a clear shift on balance of power has been observed in the region; a struggle of controlling the regional politics between Iran and Saudi Arabia. This paper discusses the reasons and the major factors behind the Arab revolution, different revolutions that have changed the political history of Middle East and North Africa, their impact on the political and social infrastructure and an in-depth analysis on the perceptions of Western Powers towards new Arab regime. INTRODUCTION: The term “Arab Spring” refers to the revolutionary wave that has hit the entire Arab world which has resulted in the “awakening” of all the Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa1. This led to a series of demonstrations, strikes and protests in the Arab region which marked the beginning of revolution in the Middle East and North Africa. Few of the revolutions that changed the history of the Arab world are Tunisian and Egyptian revolution, civil war in Libya that toppled the government of General Gaddafi, civil disobedience in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen2. Different protests and strikes against governments have also been observed at a large scale in Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait and Morocco and Oman whereas, on the other hand; Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Lebanon and Mauritania also faced the wave of revolution at a minor scale. Nevertheless, this Arab revolution also added fuel to the fire to the Palestinian Conflict with Israel3. BACKGROUND: The “Arab Spring” involved a series of civil resistance in terms of violent strikes, campaigns, public demonstrations and marches against the government4. Technology, media coverage and social media platforms have played a vital role in shaping the revolution and creating awareness in the general masses. This civil resistance was suppressed by the government and the authorities in a violent manner which triggered the revolution more aggressively by the protestors. THE RISE OF ARAB SPRING: Arab Spring which is also known as “Arab Awakening” or “Arab Uprisings” refers to the series of protests and public demonstrations held against the government and the authorities by the Arab people. These protests and the demonstrations were observed throughout the Middle East and North Africa which changed the history of the Arab politics in the region. The incident in Tunisia on 18th December 2010 became the major reason for triggering this revolution5. The Tunisian revolution begins with the self-immolation of Mohammad Bouazizi against corruption and unjust treatment by the government authorities. This sparked the fire in other African and Middle Eastern states such as Algeria, Egypt and Yemen which was followed by a number of violent protests in other countries as well6. However, a wave of political unrest and public demonstration against governments was felt even outside the Arab region which marked the new era of revolution and rebellion against state corruption, ill treatment, unemployment and human rights violation by the official authorities. As a result of this revolution, different governments around the region as well as outside the Arab region were brought down by the protestors. These demonstrations and political unrest in the Arab states drew the global attention towards the demands of the Arab nationals. CAUSES OF THE ARAB SPRING: It is important to understand the motivating factors and causes behind the violent aggression by the Arab protestors against the governments. The major causes behind the revolution included dictatorship, corruption, absolute monarchy, economic instability, high unemployment and poverty rate7. However, according to different political analysts unequal distribution of wealth and governments’ ignorance towards youth are the major causes of Arab revolt8. But we cannot undermine the other factors such as unemployment, high inflation rate and poverty as the major issues. Unemployment and corrupt governance have been the major issues in case of Tunisian Revolution. Different countries have different causes for the revolt. However, we cannot analyze the entire revolution on the basis of one cause; there may be certain other factors that contribute together in changing the world dynamics. FACTORS NECESSARY FOR A REVOLUTION: Weak or corrupt governance. Social inequity due to the rule of autocrats on wealth distribution system. Role of political groups. The ignorance by international community Socio-economic and other factors. UNDERSTANDING THE MAJOR CAUSES BEHIND “ARAB SPRING”: The above mentioned factors have well contributed together in making the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions successful. However, we have also observed that some of the above mentioned factors lack in case of Libya and Syria where bringing a revolution was not only impossible but it was extremely difficult due to many reasons such as strict governance and policies adapted by the officials against protestors. Same restrictions are imposed by Saudi and Iranian governments where revolutions never gained their momentum and heavy charges are implied against the protestors. It is highly imperative to understand that what made the people of Middle East and North Africa to stand against their governments and why have they felt the need to protest. POLITICAL STRUCTURE: Majority of Arab states are ruled by dictators or absolute monarchs who have successfully kept their authoritarian regime over the region. They include presidents, prime ministers, kings and military generals9. Such autocrats hold the control and power in their hands, make all the decision by themselves and they make sure that all the concerning authorities report directly to them. Such autocrats also make sure to protect themselves from any foreign threat or opposition by the general masses. To maintain their position, they keep a well balanced relation with both the wealthy and lower class masses. This policy helps the governments to create employment opportunities for the unemployed masses and ensures the prosperity of the state10. However, in some cases this policy could turn their position into a vulnerable one as happened in Libyan revolution. Arab Spring enabled the nationals to raise their voices against such dictators and monarchs who failed to maintain balance and harmony in the region. ECONOMIC ISSUES: Despite of economical stability in majority of the Middle Eastern states, the vast proportion of accumulated wealth and related monetary benefits have gone to Arab dictators and their allies rather than to the general public. Egyptian Revolution has been an outcome of an economic turmoil caused by the unfair wealth deposition by Ex-President Hosni Mubarak and his supporters11. This unjust treatment by the government on wealth distribution, low wages, high inflation rate, growing unemployment and day by day increasing poverty pushed the people of these Arab states to stand against the corrupt government structure due to rapidly growing frustration and anger taking place in the minds. SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS ISSUES: It has been estimated that Middle East and North Africa is a home to more than 25 different ethnic groups and different religions other than Islam. These ethnic groups are further divided into different sub-groups which make the region of Gulf and North Africa incredibly culturally and religiously diversified region. These groups follow their own traditions, customs and rituals. On the other hand, different religions and their sub-groups have also been observed. A clear conflict has been seen among these religious groups such as conflicts between Zionists and Muslims as incase of Israel-Palestine Conflict and recent Sunni-Shiite Clashes in Bahrain which were heavily supported by Iran due to Shiite majority in the country and opposed by Saudi Arabia12. In the past decade, we have also observed the similar clashes between Iraq and Iran on Sunni-Shiite issues. The wave of Arab Spring gave a new dimension to these issues. It was plain and clear to observe a rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran on opposition and support to Sunni and Shiite groups by the respective countries. MAJOR REVOLUTIONS AS AN OUTCOME OF ARAB SPRING: Some of the revolutions that changed the dynamics of the Arab world are: TUNISIAN REVOLUTION: Tunisian Revolution was triggered by the tragic death of Mohammed Bouazizi who set himself on fire after he was treated unjustly by the government officials. Mohammed Bouazizi who was used to sell fruits on a cart was a bachelor degree holder but unfortunately, his cart was confiscated by the officials on a wrong accusation against him. As a result, Mohammed Bouazizi committed suicide but his death toppled the system within the country. Tunisian government was downturned by majority of different groups who stood united against the President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali for bringing corruption, unemployment and violating the basic human rights within the country. Tunisian Revolution brought many changes on the social and political structure of the country. Hundreds and thousands of protestors died with many of them facing serious injuries during protests and demonstrations. As a result, the President took political refuge in Saudi Arabia. However, in the end this revolution brought many changes to the political system of the country which marked a series of different revolutions in other countries13. EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION: The Egyptian Revolution was triggered by the Tunisian Revolution against the country’s poor economic condition and failure of the government in providing basic amenities of life to the citizens. The country broke into a series of protests against the President Hosni Mubarak that finally led him to resign from his sea. However, many attempts were made by the President to gain control over the situation but he failed in maintaining the peace. The protestors were supported by the Military that made the demonstrations and protests successful14. LIBYAN REVOLUTION: Libyan Revolution is another collective and a successful one attempt by the people of Libya against the dictatorship rule of Colonel Gaddafi for violating the basic human rights. The Libyan dictator tried all his efforts to suppress the voices and rebels however, he failed to oppress them. As a result, this led to civil war against the dictatorship rule that ended up in the killing of the Colonel Gaddafi15. IMPACT OF ARAB SPRING: Arab Spring has greatly influenced the politics of the region. The fate of the entire region was changed due to the wave of revolution. From hundreds of years, this region was in absolute control under Monarchs and Dictators that have maintained their supremacy and control over the region. Under the rule of these monarchs and dictators people were deprived of their basic rights16. They were oppressed by their tyrannical masters that took the freedom of speech and expression from the public and maintained rule without reforming their governance. This made the people to take courage and stand against their masters. As a result, a revolutionary force came into being comprised of youth that changed the entire dynamics of the Arab region. IMPACT ON MEDIA: Arab Spring left a deep impact on media. The Arab media experienced a new change for the first time. People became very much aware of the propaganda spread by the government and the role of local media in this regard. Internet has played a key role in giving boost to the Arab Spring and creating awareness in the minds of young generation. The role of social media websites and online news sources is hard to ignore. Without such online resources, people would have never been able to stand up for their rights against their masters without much viral awareness17. Online resources provided a platform to the youth to team up together against the tyrannical rule of the monarchs and dictators. They got immense support from all around the world and easy access to the latest information and updates through the internet. IMPACT ON POLITICS: A clear change has been observed in the politics of the Middle Eastern and North African countries. Those political parties that were outlawed by the dictators and monarchs previously due to their opposition against them, started to rise again on the screen of politics. Different political parties have raised different agendas revolving around two basic concepts such as Arab Nationalism and Muslim Brotherhood18. These revolutionary freedom movements have shaped the entire geopolitical situation of the region. Many of the governments have reformed their policies and systems after carefully analyzing the demands of the protestors. While some of the governments have taken stern actions against these protestors such as in the case of Saudi Arabia. EFFECT ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: The Arab Spring has not only left its deep impact on the regional politics but it has also effected on the horizon of international politics. Western politics will now have to strategize its policies for the new Arab regime and other political groups emerging after the revolt. United States and other Western powers have played a vital role in maintaining their power and monopoly in the region. Apparently, it has been observed that the presence of United States in the region has been condemned by different Arab states especially Iran but Saudi Arabia has maintained close alliance with United States and other Western Powers19. Before the emergence of Arab Spring, these Western powers were supporting their own dictators and “political puppets” to maintain their hold in the region but the recent wave of Arab revolution has brought many changes to the hold of international community in the region. This has shattered the monopoly of Western bloc in the region that has made the international community to revise their policies in the region. EMERGENCE OF NEW BALANCE OF POWER IN THE ARAB REGION: With the emergence of new Arab political revolutionary wave in the region, a clear shift of power has been observed in the region. Saudi Arabia and Iran has been observed as the main influencers and emerging powers in the region. Bahraini uprisings are such an example of Iranian struggle to maintain its power politics in the region as the entire revolution was supported by the Iran government to support the Bahraini revolution. The presence of Shiite groups in Bahrain was supported by Iran which was opposed by the Saudi government20. Secondly, the close alliance between United States and Saudi Arabia has raised many suspicious regarding the position of Saudi Arab in the region. United States is clearly maintaining the power of Israel in the region which is opposed by Iran. It has also been observed that with the other Arab states, Iran is cultivating its political relations to make a close alliance with them in order to stand against presence of United States and Israel as well as Saudi Arabia. As a result, with its new strategies and policies Iran is strengthening its relations with Lebanon, Iraq and Bahrain. In other words, we can say that the emergence of Arab Spring has not only strained the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia but a clear shift and struggle in gaining the balance of power has been observed in the region. LIST OF REFERENCES: Arab Awakening accessed on 5th, January, 2012 Thomas, L. 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Clashes Rock Bahraini Capital. < http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121714223324820.html> accessed on 5th January 2012. Smoltczyk, A. and Windfuhr, V. (2011). Autocrats Gain Control in Middle East. Speigel Online. < http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,762861-3,00.html> accessed on 5th January 2012. Edwards, W. (2011). Violent Protests Rock Libyan City of Benghazi. France 24. < http://www.france24.com/en/20110216-libya-violent-protests-rock-benghazi-anti-government-gaddafi-egypt-tunisia-demonstration> accessed on 5th January 2012. Read More