The Arab Spring During The Middle East And North African Region Essay

I enjoyed reading your post this week, too. I agree with you with “the group (al Qaeda) has lost their ability to sway the minds of the Arab youth for recruitment purposes.” That is very true that other Islamist terrorist lost their influenza on the region, too. This shows that people showed their willingness and men of goodwill for a more democratic regime. Didn’t they?

In recent months we have seen political unrest in Tunisia, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries. In each of these countries the political leadership had amassed immense power and was using these powers to restrain and limit their countrymen from development. The ruling class clearly had formed a political structure with a clear agenda to inhibit the growth of their fellow citizens. In the past few decades, people from these countries have endured structural violence due to political hegemony. Exposure to western media has made the people realize the advantage of distributed power. Hence these countries are witnessing a surge of protest, with people fighting against the system. Parsons emphasizes on the distribution of political power and its effects throughout his

“There is, then, an economic basis for the absence of democracy in the Arab world. But it is structural. It has to do with the ways in which oil distorts the state, the market, the class structure, and the entire incentive structure. Particularly in an era of high global oil prices, the effects of the oil curse are relentless: Not a single one of the 23 countries that derive most of their export earnings from oil and gas is a democracy today.”

The history of the Middle East shows the complexity of the region. From colonialism; the Tanzimat reforms which emphasised on minority rights and relations between Muslims and non-Muslims; the Constantinople agreement between Britain, France and Russia; the Sykes Picot; the Balfour Declaration; the Arab revolts of June 1916 to October 1918 against Ottoman rule; the Baghdad Pact; Nasser’s diplomatic success of the 1955 Suez crisis which led him to be seen as the hero of the Arab world; the setting up of the United Arab Republic of Egypt and Syria in February 1958 and the overthrow of Qasim and Mosaddegh government, one can see that the history of the Middle East is rich and complex. It cannot be understood with Huntington’s simplistic label of the Middle East as ‘Islamic states’. Korany states that ‘the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and Iraq’s factional in-fighting; Iraq’s 1990-invasion of Kuwait and rising Sunni-Shia rifts show Huntington’s theory to be a self-fulfilling prophesy, if not a misleading conceptual lens’ (Korany, 2016, p. 83). This can be seen when analysing the Cold war era, where leaders of Middle Eastern countries were

"Stereotyping of Arabs by the U.S. Ensures Years of Turmoil" Stereotyping of Arabs by the U.S. Ensures Years of Turmoil by Edward Said (1935-2003) is an argumentative article that illustrates Americans preconceived notions about the Arab population. Edward Said, a renowned Professor of Literature at Columbia University provides a background for this essay with his most famous work, Orientalism. Orientalism revolves around the concept of orientalist thinking and Said believes that the Americans portray this sort of thinking which entails generalizations and prejudices when it comes to the Arabs. The author provides a balanced view point within his article. Having been born in Jerusalem and having served as an advocate for the Palestinian cause, Said has been exposed to different viewpoints regarding Arab Stereotyping and thus strengthening the credibility of his article.

The term “Arab Spring” has emerged in academic literature as well as in the general media from about early 2011. It refers to the “awakening” of some Arab nations and the movements to replace authoritarian regimes with democratic ones. The theme of “spring” and “awakening” seems to have been borrowed from the 1989 reform movements in the former Eastern-block nations, such as in the former German Democratic Republic or Hungary. However, this comparison has been criticised by some analysts since both the circumstances which have led to these movements as well as the outcome of these reform efforts seem to differ quite a lot. Yet, the Arab Spring term seems to be still widely used and even found an extension in the creation of the term Arab Winter which refers to events that happened in 2012 in some Arab countries during which these reform movements seemed to have “cooled-off” and particular nations, such as Egypt, attempted to go back to the status-quo of the pre-2011 era.

In the post -World War II era, the competition of global supremacy between the superpowers of the time, United States and the Soviet Union resulted in the Cold War. Many countries in the world were pulled into this rivalry including many of the states of the Middle East. Allies against the Soviet Union received substantial quantities of United States aid and were encouraged to purchase weapons of Western means. Those who were in opposition to the United States’ power received economic and military assistance from the Soviet Union. The United States were inclined to view the rivalry between them and the Soviet Union as a vie for global supremacy. The challenge of attaining democracy in the Middle East has been insufficient leadership specifically in those who shared a common border and were in proximity to the Soviet Union. The United States, in their determination to impede the threat of expansion of the borders of the Soviet Union as well as contain the spread of communion, provided economic and military assistance to keep Iran, Iraq and Turkey politically stable. Although this was the goal of the United States, they actually impeded the democracy and political stability of these countries through its persistent influence in government affairs, determining its future’s livelihood.

Emergence. Dr. Lelah Behbehanian, Wendy Brown, David Harvey, John Hammond, Judith Butler, Donna Murch, and Piven et al, would all say the emergence of the “Occupy Movement” was inspired by the “Arab Spring,” the “Obama Autumn” and Neoliberal deregulation that supports each man for himself, but makes it difficult for most Americans to achieve are continuing to participate in the American Dream.

Throughout Middle Eastern history there have been many great empires but two stand out, the Ottoman Empire and the Qajar Kingdom; both have had long-lasting effects on what the Middle East looks like today. When looking at the Islamic Republic today and their form of government it is important to understand how they reached this level through examining their history and the lingering effects that WWI and Western Imperialism have left behind. The Ottoman Empire which stretched as far as modern-day Austria were a great military power but just like the Qajars were brought down by a combination of force and economic troubles. In order to understand the modern Middle East, we must be able to understand its history and what brought down both the Ottoman Empire and the Qajar Dynasty.

Conflict over energy resources—and the wealth and power they create—has become an increasingly prominent feature for geopolitics particularly in the Middle East . The discovery of oil in the late nineteenth century added a dimension to the region as major outside states powers employed military force to protect their newly acquired interests in the Middle East. The U.S.’s efforts to secure the flow of oil have led to ever increasing involvement in the Middle East region’s political affairs and ongoing power struggles. By the end of the twentieth century, safeguarding the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf had become one of the most important functions of the U.S. military establishment. The close relationship between the United States and the Saudi royal family was formed in the final months of World War II, when U.S. leaders sought to ensure preferential access to Saudi petroleum. The U.S. link with Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region has demonstrated to be greatly beneficial to both parties, yet it has also led to ever deepening U.S. involvement in regional politics.

In late 2010, a Tunisian named Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest against the poor economic situation in which he was living (CNN, 2011). Other Tunisians soon took the opportunity to resist their government and possible overthrow the leadership of Ben Ali. They took it as their responsibility to fight for the common good. Simple demonstration against the Tunisian government soon went ahead to an extent that Ben Ali had to leave the country. The events that followed the departures of the Tunisian president were the least expected. The revolts in Tunisia spurred citizens of other Arab nations to revolt against their governments. By the end of the years 2011, the Arab spring had claimed the presidency of three long serving presidents and

In late 2010, a tidal wave of uprisings and protests in various parts of the Arab world emerged. It began with the Tunisian revolution when the martyr Mahmoud Bouazizi set fire to himself as a result of the deteriorating economic and social. This led to protests and demonstrations that ended with the fall of the ruling regime. In Tunisia which sparked the beginning of revolutions in many Arab countries, this is known as an Arab Spring. The question remains what are the real reasons that led to the Arab Spring and its effects? the causes of the Arabic spring May be varied, depending on the places, however the reasons can be a corruption in economic policies and demand social justice as the key motives and protests in the Arab world. This essay will discuss the most important reasons, and the effects of what is known as the Arab Spring.

A revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests (both violent and non-violent), riots, and civil wars in the Arab World that began on 18 December 2010, later gained the heading “The Arab spring”. The Arab spring began by a twenty six year old boy named Mohammed Bouazizi was getting ready to sell fruits and vegetables in a rural town of Sidi Bouzid Tunisia. Bouazizi was the primary supporter for his widowed mother and six of his siblings. The entire incident originated when the police officer asked bouazizi to hand over his wooden cart, he refused the police women allegedly slapped him after being publicly humiliated bouazizi marched in front of a government building and set himself on fire. The Jasmine revolution in Tunisia, the shock wave swept across the country which threatened the stability of this oil-rich region with repercussion felt internationally. After the world witnessed what happened in Tunisia, it caused a spilled over into most of the Arab countries. Such as Egypt, Libya Syria and Yemen. Aim of this paper is to show that the current situation corollary of decades of failed policies, exacerbated by an unsolicited foreign intervention. The extensive consequences, I will argue, require cautious attention and careful management from international communities as well as the Arab human rights committee. This paper seeks to explore the profound causes that prompted the so called “Arab awakening” and the covert hidden agenda behind the sudden pro democratic

Over the last century, the Middle East has been the location of ethnic rivalry, political and economic instability, religious conflict, territorial dispute and war. Much of this tension in the Middle East comes from the various interpretations of Islam and how the religion should be applied to politics and society. Over the last ten years, the United States and their allies have pushed to promote democracy in the Middle East. However, they too have many obstacles they must overcome. They face problems such as the compatibility of Islamic law and democracy, the issue of women’s rights, and there is always the problem of how to go about implementing a democratic reform in these countries. Many initially would assume that it is only the

The “Arab Spring,” was a chain of violent and nonviolent anti-government protests that spread in the Arab world in 2011. This movement was widely popular and appealing to the people participating in these protests. The Arab Spring symbolized patriotism and giving citizens a chance to remove unjust, corrupt leaders, social and economic unrest, and demand more rights. It was a universal message that was put forth through a series of major international events. Many had positive outcomes which made the Arab Spring much more impactful. The movement began in Tunisia where the suicide of a local vendor unleashed the widespread injustices of the public and eventually led to the downfall of the corrupt and cruel policies of the president. Almost immediately, the protests began to spread to other Arab nations. Egypt and Libya also voted for new leaders due to similar existing corruptness and injustice of its leaders. Through the use of social media and many rallies being gathered online through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, Arab citizens attacked the injustices in their countries. Countries like Bahrain and Syria mostly protested the unfair treatment of the Shiite sect because of a harsh Sunni government ruling. They demanded equal rights and took to the streets and online for these rights (Al-Rawi, 2014). With the lack of a political solution, the crisis still continues, and in Syria, a civil war broke out and the brutality and injustice continues. Many of these street protests