The Aftermath of the Tunisian Revolution - Essay Example

The Tunisian Revolution The Tunisian Revolution, which is also known as Jasmine Revolution, started on 17th December The revolution was sparked by a street vendor called Mohamed Bouazizi who decided to set himself on fire. He was protesting the way local authorities had mistreated him. A policewoman had beaten Bouazizi in public and confiscated his cart containing agricultural produce because he did not have a permit. When he took his complaints to the provincial headquarters, the officials could not help him. Bouazizi then set himself on fire and he was admitted in the Ben Arous hospital with severe injuries (Honwana 3). The then President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali visited him in the hospital. Bouazizi finally succumbed to his injuries on 4th January 2011 after spending 18 days in the hospital (Npr.org). Mohamed Bouazizi was 26 years old at the time of his death. The vegetable vendor was brought up in a very poor background. When he finished college, he could not find a job. He started selling fruits and vegetables in order to support himself and his extended family. In Tunisia, unemployment is high. Most people who finish colleges or universities do not find jobs that they trained. Instead, they resort to selling fruits and vegetables in local markets. Disappointment and frustration among the jobless youths seeking employment is high (Collins 5). When the news of Mohamed Bouazizi setting himself on fire broke out, it sparked a wave of violent demonstrations in his home town, Sidi Bouzid, and other parts of Tunisia. The authorities responded by brutally cracking down on the demonstrators in order to quell the protests. After a few days, the protests reached the capital, Tunis. The government responded further by intensifying crackdown on protesters. Government security forces brutally beat demonstrators and arrested political and human rights activists (Arieff and Humud p 3). The government then shut down the entire internet connection in the country in an attempt to stop the widespread social-media coordination of the protests. When all the government measures failed to calm the protests, President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali decided to reshuffle his entire cabinet. He also promised to create three hundred thousand jobs. The violent demonstrations, however, continued throughout the country despite President Ben Ali’s latest measures. The demonstrations were getting out of hand. The demonstrators wanted a regime change. Their demands prompted President Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia with his family on 14th January 2011, ten days after the death of Mohamed Bouazizi (Honwana 4). When President Ben Ali fled Tunisia, the parliamentary speaker Foued Mebaaza took charge as interim president. Mohammed Ghannouchi continued with his role as Prime Minister. Mr. Ghannouchi had a difficult task of forming an interim government. The demonstrators rejected his new unity government because it had individuals who had previously served in Ben Ali’s oppressive regime (Nlg.org 12). When Mohammed Ghannouchi eventually formed a new government, it granted amnesty to all political prisoners who had been detained before and during the uprising. It also issued warrants of arrest for the deposed President Zine el-Alidine Ben Ali together with his close family members. The government of Ghannouchi appointed national committees which would investigate human rights abuses, embezzlement of state resources, and draft a new constitution. The Tunisian people questioned the capacity of those committees, given the few resources and legal challenges. Street protests broke out again forcing Ghannouchi to resign on 27th February 2011 (Honwana 14). Tunisia finally managed to move forward following the formation of a unity government that considered the demands of the protestors. The success of Tunisians in ousting the long-serving president Ben Ali inspired events in other Arab nations. Popular uprisings in the neighboring Egypt brought down President Hosni Mubarak on 11th February 2011. Mubarak was later charged and convicted of killing unarmed protestors. In Libya, street protests started on 15th February 2011. The protests later turned into a civil war between soldiers loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and opposition groups. The protestors finally overthrew Colonel Gaddafi on 23rd August 2011 when NATO forces aided them. In Yemen, street protests began on 3rd February 2011. The protests continued until late November 2011 when President Ali Abdulla Saleh gave in to the demands of the demonstrators. He signed a power-transfer agreement which brought his 33-year rule to an end. In Syria, popular uprising in the form of anti-government street protests began in late January 2011 (Npr.org). The protests have since then turned into a civil war. The Arab spring, which has its roots in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, has brought democracy to some Middle East countries which were initially ruled by dictators. Tunisia and Egypt have held elections that observers and analysts considered free and fair (Shahshahani and Mullin p 67). In January 2011, Tunisia had only eight registered political parties. The dominant party was Ben Ali’s Constitutional Democratic Rally (RDC). Members of RDC used to dominate the country’s politics and economy. The new government has, however, abolished RDC and legalized more political parties. The country had 94 registered political parties by mid 2011. In modern revolutions, Samuel Huntington’s ideas are still relevant. In his book, Political Order in Changing Societies published in 1968, he argued that political decay is likely to occur if political development fails to occur (Fukuyama). In mid-December and early January 2011, the Arab world experienced political breakdown and decay. The political breakdown started particularly in Tunisia before spreading to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Syria. In these Arab countries, there was no political development. Politics was characterized by oppressive regimes, dictatorship, and leaders clinging to power for as long as they wish. For example, in Tunisia, Ben Ali had been in power since 1987. Muammar Gaddafi seized power in 1969 and ruled Libya for 42 years. Ali Abdulla Saleh ruled Yemen for 33 years before quitting due to unending demonstrations against his rule. Since there was no political development in these countries, political decay took effect. Huntington had also suggested that the acts of modernity operate at cross-purposes. For example, if social mobilization and the development of political institutions are not in phase, it would lock out new social actors. They would, therefore, be frustrated because they would not take part in the existing political system (Fukuyama). In Tunisia and some of the Middle East countries which experienced the Arab Spring, this situation occurred. The development of social institutions stagnated while social mobilization was systematically developing. For example, Tunisia was particularly a one-party state. President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali’s regime could not tolerate any opposition. Access to the internet and the use of social media was common among the Tunisian people. Unemployment was, however, rampant in the country despite the high levels of education among the people compared to neighboring countries. Majority of the people was, therefore, locked out of the country’s politics and social development. The lower and middle social classes, therefore, demanded change. Huntington’s other notable argument was The Third Wave. He argued that democratic transitions occur as a result of culture. Huntington had observed that democratic transition had occurred in culturally Christian nations and in those transitions Catholics were trying to catch up with what the Protestants had already achieved. More than 60 countries worldwide experienced democratic transitions after getting inspired by Portugal’s 1974 revolution (Huntington 3). The argument was relevant to the Arab Spring. Anti-government protests, which toppled long-serving leaders, began in Tunisia. The Tunisian Revolution inspired events in other culturally Muslim countries just the same way the 1974 Portugal uprising reshaped things across the Catholic world. Muslims across the Middle East were trying to establish democracy in their countries. According to James DeFronzo, there are five factors that ignite and make uprisings successful. They are mass discontent, unifying motivations among social groups, political crisis facing the government in power, permissive world context, and divided elites (Gill). All these factors were relevant during the Tunisian Revolution and the general Arab Spring. Mass discontent arises when at least one of the following conditions is met: deteriorating living conditions, shift in acceptable morals in society, and improved living standards that are followed by rapid decline. In Tunisia, mass discontent existed for several years. Some of its causes were the dictatorship, unemployment, oppression of opposition parties, and the brutal nature of government security force (Arieff and Humud 2-3). Rapid growth of population increased the number of unemployed youth. Some of the youth resorted to doing manual jobs, other than the jobs they trained for, just to sustain themselves. Living conditions among majority of the Tunisian people deteriorated. The Tunisians, therefore, needed changes in their economic, social, and political setups. The mass discontent, therefore, succeeded because most people regarded the problems they were undergoing were caused by their social organizations. Unifying motivations among various social groups refers to the existence of a common goal that a particular revolution intends to achieve. For the case of Tunisia, the general goal was the development of the economy, a favorable political atmosphere, and social institutions which would only be realized through change of regime. Tunisians thought that the change of regime would finally develop the economy and put to an end corruption, dictatorship, and oppression. In any society, when mass discontent combines with unifying motivational factors, revolution often becomes difficult to be stopped. Tunisia experienced such a situation. Majority of its people from all the social classes united because they needed to achieve a common goal of removing the government in power. The government’s brutal crackdown on demonstrators escalated the protests. Political crisis facing the government in power refers to the emergence of an uncontrollable revolutionary movement in the country. Such a crisis is likely to be caused by economic depression, withdrawal of foreign aid, or natural disasters. In such a situation, the government loses public confidence and eventually becomes incapable of carrying out its functions and unable to stop opposition protests. In Tunisia, the regime was faced with anti-government protests that later unfolded to an unending crisis. The causes of the protests were social inequalities and economic crisis. The International Monetary Fund also sanctioned the government to withdraw subsidies on food prices (Shahshahani and Mullin 69-70). The minority ruling elite did not put in place measures that could improve the country’s economy. As a result, they lost public confidence and were unable to execute state roles efficiently. The crisis combined with mass discontent that was already deeply rooted within the people. Permissive world context refers to a situation whereby when revolution occurs in a country, other countries do not intervene to prevent it from succeeding. If in case of other countries intervening, they do so with the aim of aiding the revolutionists (Gill). The Tunisian revolution did not encounter any foreign intervention. The revolutionists took to the streets despite brutal government crackdown. In the neighboring Libya, however, NATO forces intervened when the revolutionists appeared to lose the war. Little international intervention also occurred in Egypt when Western powers pressurized Mubarak into resigning from power. The revolution in Syria has, however, not succeeded because there is no direct foreign intervention to aid the rebels fighting President Assad’s loyalists. Division among elites is the onset of a lasting and well-coordinated revolutionary leadership. Elites are people who have influence because of their charisma, good leadership qualities, intelligence, or wealth. When elites in any country facing social uprisings divide themselves, revolution often succeeds (Gill). When division among elites combines with mass discontent and political crisis facing the government, the consequences are disastrous for the regime. Such a situation occurred throughout the Arab countries. Mass discontent arose from dictatorship and oppression, the rising gap between the rich and poor, and brutal governments crackdown on opposition. Revolutionary protests turned violent and deadly forcing some regimes to give in to opposition demands. Works Cited “Arab Spring: A Research and Study Guide.” Cornell University Library. Cornell University Library, 4 Apr. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Arieff, Alexis, and Humud Carla. “Political Transition in Tunisia.” Federation of American Scientists. FAS, 29 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Collins, Nicholas. “Voices of Revolution: Conversations With Tunisian Youth.” National Development Institute. NDI, 24 Mar. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Fukuyama, Francis. “Samuel Huntington’s Legacy.” Foreign Policy. FP, 5 Jan 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Gill, Jungyuan. “Revolution: Past, Present and Future.” The Monreal Review. The MonrealReview, May 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Honwana, Alicinda. “Youth and the Tunisian Revolution.” Social Science Research Council. Social Science Research Council., Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Huntington, Samuel P. The Third Wave: democratization in the late twentieth century. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991, Print. National Lawyers Guild. “Promises and Challenges: The Tunisian Revolution of 2010 – 2011.” National Lawyers Guild. NLG, June 2011., Web. 24 Apr. 2014. NPR. “Timeline: The Major Events of The Arab Spring.” NPR. NPR, 2 Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Shahshahani, Azadeh, and Mullin Corinna. “The Legacy of US Intervention and The Tunisian Revolution: Promises and Challenges One Year On.” Interface: a journal for and about social movements 4.1 (May 2012): 67-75. Interface. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Read More