Causes of the Arab Spring - Essay Example

Lecturer: The Arab Spring Introduction The Arab world has witnessed a collection of uprisings that have claimed thousands of lives over the entire period of operation (Bhardwaj, 2011, p. 3). The countries to the north of Africa, and the Middle East have engaged in a political turmoil that has now turned into years. The spring has swept over the entire region and even countries like Morocco that have not witnessed serious uprisings had to negotiate and come to a compromise before normalcy was restored. Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Syria and Yemen have not had stable governments with a period stretching back to a few years ago. This paper seeks to address the Arab spring with special reference to Libya, Yemen and Syria. In view of the same, it will address what caused the spring and then refer to historical information that would give literature on similar uprisings in the past. The extent of the operations will be discussed to which there will be deductions on the level of success of the revolutions as opposed to if the militants would have chosen to go through a negotiation. The paper is based on the theme ‘If citizens are not part of their government, then they will be willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of a democratic cause. Causes of the Revolution The Arab spring by definition refers to the demonstrations, protests (violent and non-violent) as well as the civil wars that created a revolution that swept the Arab world and from the beginning, has taken two years and eleven months to date (Manfreda, 2012, p. 21). Many leaders have been ousted from power to-date and in some cases like Egypt, it has happened twice. A collection of reasons account for the spring as indicated; Authoritarian leadership Political corruption Violations of human rights Inflation Kleptocracy Sectarianism Unemployment Factors related to demographic factors A spark created by immolation of Mohammed Bouaziz According to Taha (2012), the government of these three countries and by extension the whole Arab region has witnessed an increased rate of literacy levels. The human development index increased rapidly but the government was not moving forward to trying to solve the issue of unemployment. The aspirations of the graduates had risen so highly. Cases of graduates driving taxis to earn a living were rife and common. Bhardwaj (2011) indicated that many of the youth that had become very tech-savvy had started seeing autocracy as anachronism and could not handle it any longer. On the issue of the demographic structural factors, it can be noted that between 1975 to date, the population has grown more than anticipated and therefore the youth, whose population makes well over two-thirds of the population have different requirements than was witnessed then. The governments cannot in this case remain in a focused position to take care of their needs. Because of these generational differences, there was a mismatch between the government concerns and the actual needs on the ground. People viewed the ruling governments as monarchies as opposed to democracies, kleptocracies and the control of people, which was done from the traditional perspective, was seen as violation of human rights by the ruling dictators. The bomb actually exploded when Mohammed Bouazziz set himself on fire in Tunisia over what could be termed as impossible living conditions. That was the spark that set the fire across the whole region (Gerbaudo, 2012, p. 12). Historical Information about Similar Cases Dissident militants have existed in the Arab world since the early years of 1800s. However, most of these revolutions have always been directed towards foreign domination of these independent nations and therefore became inwardly redirected. The neighboring countries have been witnessing a continuous flow of smaller revolutions possibly for specified reasons but never has there been a national revolution that has swept over a nation in totality as has been witnessed. Howard (2012) noted that war in the Middle East has always been between the Palestinian and Syrian nationals and the Israelis and not internally in Syria. In 1989, there were serious revolutions in Eastern Europe. The fall of communism was a revolution that happened in Eastern Europe that aimed at overthrowing the communist states. This revolution began in Poland in 1989 and spread over to Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and Romania. The aim of all these were similar and were related to the fact there was opposition to one party rule and a cry for democracy. Civil resistance was rife. However, it was only in Romania that the people overthrew the one party rule violently. China also experienced protests at the Tiananmen Square in 1989. Sparks of precipitation from that protest helped to energize other protests in other parts of the world. Although this one had note materialized effectively, it failed to achieve any meaningful objective. There was cold war as a result of the demonstrations against communism (Taha, 2012). These demonstrations saw dissolution of the Czechoslovakia, abandonment of communism in Cambodia, Ethiopia and south Yemen amongst some other countries. This goes round and explains why some of the Arabic states are affected and under this consideration, the reason for the revolts in Yemen. There was a revolution against communism which had come up after similar sparks in other countries in the region. Therefore, the uprising in the Arab world, particularly Libya, Syria and Yemen was not a new thing as far as the rest of the world was concerned but its implications has had a far reaching effects on the law of rule in the world. Extent of Operations in the Countries As has been stated by the reasons for the demonstrations, everyone had a reason to come together in the demonstration against a government that had taken care of them since they were born (some Libyans never knew of any other president for as long as they were alive). Nepstad (2011) indicated different goals of the revolutionary uprisings that happened in these three countries. There goals are as indicated: Democracy Human rights Employment Regime change Islamism and Secularism. Libya In Libya, demonstrations swept across the country against the government from 15th February 2011. Three days later, the opposition controlled most of Benghazi, the opposition stronghold compelling the government to dispatch elite troupes and the military to try and recapture it but they were seriously compelled. Said-al Islam, the son of Gadhafi warned on television that the country would go into a civil war if the troupes continued getting close to the capital city Tripoli. On the other side, the increasing war between the militias and the government troupes was raising death rate into thousands. The international community could not just seat as people died and they seriously condemned the government for killing civilians as human rights groups continued condemning the same government. Several government diplomats resigned in support of the revolution. An interim government was set up in Benghazi to try and give guidance to the rebellion (Nepstad, 2011). On 17th march of the same year, the United Nations Security Council resolution of 1973 was put to order prompting France, the USA and other countries to apply a no-fly zone in Libya and subsequently send forces to protect the citizens. Thousands of people died during the war given that these were civilians fighting against well trained and armed forces. However, in august anti-Gadhafi forces captured Tripoli the capital city, forcing Gadhafi to flee to his hometown of Sirte. He was later captured and killed prompting an end to a war that claimed thousands of people but one thing was achieved, regime change (Manfreda, 2012). Yemen In mid-January 2012, protests occurred in the different parts of the country. Though the major reason for the demonstration was the government initiative to alter the constitution, all the other reasons as stated above also applied to Yemen. President Ali Abdulla Saleh, who had been facing opposition from his internal advisers since 2009, was called upon to resign prompting a very mass demonstration in the capital Sana’a on January 27th 2011. Tawakel Karman, a politician called for the ‘Day of Rage’ on February 3rd. several demonstrations was held and in this case there were several members of the security forces who resigned and started backing the rebels. They ended up clashing with a sub tribe from where the presidents come from. A murder attempt was tried on the president at a mosque in the presidential compound. An agreement which had been brokered for him to cede power in exchange for immunity by the Gulf Cooperation Council never materialized three times as he refused to sign the agreement brokered. The president, while in Riyadh for treatment send a statement authorizing his deputy to broker a deal with the opposition. He however returned abruptly and refused to sign again. However, pressure on him forced him to resign and an election was held where Hadi, the only candidate on the opposition garnered 98.8% of the votes (Manfreda, 2012). Syria In Al-Hareeka Street in Damascus, a policeman assaults a civilian on 26th January 2011. The man is later arrested by the same police prompting some protests in the town. Later, 15 children are arrested for writing slogans against the government. This was in a town called Daraa. This city was to become the center of demonstrations against the government as protesters pooled together against the government for abuse of children. Later on, thousands of protesters gathered in Damascus, Aleppo and other towns protesting against the government. Harsh security clampdowns were initiated to avert the situation but there was no turning back from the protesters. Suhair Atassi, a politician who had just been released from jail became the spokesperson of the Syria revolution. The following day, more than 3000 protesters were arrested and a few martyrs but the following day saw more than 100,000 protesters in the Square of Homs. On 31st July, army tanks stormed the streets with mass killings bringing to the idea of this being called the bloodiest day of the protesters. More protests followed and from time to time there were protesters killed. By late march 2012, a ceasefire was called in the country but there was still sporadic fighting that was taking place. By June 2012, the peacekeepers in Syria declared that the country had entered a civil war. Unfortunately, the situation in Syria has not improved and the USA is now seeking congressional support to strike the nation to quell the situation (Gerbaudo, 2012). Theoretical Perspective From an analytical point of view, what is happening in the three countries is a situation of obsession with power. If it was a matter of leadership, then it would have been a rule where the people have a position in the government and also represent the changes and development that goes on around. Gadhafi refused to surrender even in the most dangerous of situations and the Yemeni president kept changing positions on whether he wanted to resign or not. Bashar al Assad has refused to resign from power, many years after the start of the revolution, thousands dead. According to Zlsser (2012), Syria’s case seems to reach no stalemate and threat of a USA striking the nation. The situations in the Arab uprisings can well be analyzed by use of the weber’s theories that touched on leadership. From the perspective of social stratification, Max oversees further classification in social class, status class and party class. In this case, people are arranged in groups based on their socio-economic positions. So many classes come up in this theory; political, economic and ideological dimensions. Some people have more power and authority, living lavishly while others languish in poverty. Social stratification is carried from generation to generation and is very constructive in maintenance of the social class. It is also worth noting that this stratification also involves beliefs. Looking at the cases at hand, there was a strong belief that Muammar Gadhafi was born to rule Libya. That is why there was no initial opposition to his rule over the 42 years he was in power. In Yemen, the president resigned under extreme pressure. Three times he refused to resign believing that the situation will rescind. In these countries all the same, there were the ruling classes while the rest of the people were extremely poor, living in abject poverty hence the reasons for the demonstrations (Howard, 2012). Another theory is that which directly deals with leadership and in specific terms, charismatic leadership as a theory of leadership (Hearn, 7th August 2013, p. 43). In this context, all these three presidents lacked charisma. Charisma according to Max deals with knowing the feelings of the people and democratically involving them in decision making for their own good. These three countries; Libya, Yemen and Syria have oil reserves which make them some of the richest nations. However, the need to own everything removed the idea of democracy or lack of it and developed a very eloquent dictatorship among the leaders. With the thousands of people dead, it is unfortunate that there is still no peace in Syria. In Yemen, the elected president resigned again after a very short time which somehow indicates some form of democracy. Level of Success and Non-Violent Participations It is therefore understandable that there has been a crisis in the three countries. What therefore has been the level of success in all the efforts that have been made in the three nations? In Libya, there was the revolution broke into a civil war meaning that only the forces would quell it. There are no clear indications if there is a civil war but it is highly suspected that the war has reached that level (Blunt, 2013, p. 398). The situation in Yemen has relaxed but there was almost a very serious civil case before peace was brokered. As far there regional influence was concerned, and the corresponding non-violent participation, Libya ha d a very strong regional influence but the problem was that Gadhafi was not part of the regional league and therefore it was hard for him to talk to any regional power. Syria has also witnessed the regional powers coming in to suggest peaceful transitions such as the Arab League and the regional gulf allies tried all to create a peaceful transition. In Yemeni, there were the Gulf States trying a non-violent brokerage. It worked at the end and the violence would have been avoided if the president would have accepted earlier. The level of militarization which highly influences the possibility of a peaceful transition was very strong in Libya. However, it is weak in Syria and the rebels are not easily able to access the weapons. In Yemen, it was not very strong although weapons were available (Gerbaudo, 2012). Conclusion Progress of the war in these places has been determined by a compromise. In Yemen, the president had to compromise. In Libya, the president had to be killed for there to be peace. Syria is a sorry situation because, after all these years of war, there is still no ceasefire and the USA is now threatening to take a military action against the government. This position therefore, supported by the other countries’ positions prove that if the people are not involved in the leadership of their own country, then they are more than willing to become martyrs for the sake of the whole nation. This has been proved through the analytical view of the Arab spring uprising. Works Cited Bhardwaj, M. (2011). Development of the Arab Spring, Libya and Syria. 76-89. Blunt, G. D. (2013). Political Studies. Political Studies Review, 11(3), 396-399. Gerbaudo. (2012). 2012."The Impermanent Revolution: The Organizational Fragility of the Egyptian Prodemocracy Movement In the Troubled Transition". Social Justice, 39(1), 8-22. Hearn, J. (7th August 2013). Theorizing Power. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Howard. (2012). "The resistance of those who desire not to be ruled". Philosophy Social Crifisim, 38(517), 518-523. Manfreda, P. (2012, 11 1). The Reasons for the Arab Spring, The Root Causes of the Arab Awakening in 2011. Retrieved 12 13, 2013, from Middle East Issues: http://middleeast.about.com/od/humanrightsdemocracy/tp/The-Reasons-For-The-Arab-Spring.htm Nepstad. (2011). Nonviolent Resistance in the Arab Spring, The critical. Swiss Politico! Science Review, 17(4), 485-493. Taha, O. (2012). 'The Arab Spring: Potential and Challenges". Security and Human Rights, 23(3), 233-236. Zlsser, E. (2012). "The Struggle for Syria: Return to the Past?". Mediterranean Politics, 17(1), 105-110. Read More