The Arab Spring

The Arab Spring refers to the wave of demonstrations and protests in the Arab world beginning in December 2010.

A series of demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa were sparked by protests occurring in Tunisia which challenged police corruption.

The protests shared characteristics of civil resistance (protests by the public) in sustained campaigns involving strikes, marches, demonstrations, and rallies.

Numerous factors led to the protests, but most focused on corruption and authoritarian leaders who people felt had failed to provide adequate social services for their citizens.

In all countries, there were accusations of human rights violations, government corruption, unemployment, and extreme poverty.

Another cause of the revolts was the concentration of wealth in the hands of authoritarian elites in power for decades.

Many demonstrations met violent responses from government authorities, as well as from pro-government militias.

With the success of the protests in Tunisia, a wave of unrest struck Algeria, Jordan, and Yemen, then spread to other countries.

In recent decades rising standards of living and literacy rates, as well as the increased availability of higher education, have created internet-savvy youth in these countries.

Protesters used the social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, to organize, communicate, and raise awareness in the face of their governments’ attempts at censorship.

A large percentage of educated but dissatisfied youth within the population could not find jobs and had nothing to lose by protesting.

Many of these young people studied in democratic nations, where they learned the value and fairness of representative government.  

During this period of regional unrest, several leaders announced their intentions to step down at the end of their current terms, such as the Iraqi Prime Minister.

In other countries, protests forced leaders to appease their citizens by forming new governments with newly appointed officials.

Reforming current governments were often not enough for people Reforming current governments were often not enough for people. A major slogan of the demonstrators became: The people want to bring down the regime.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned in February 2011, after two weeks of massive protests, ending his 30-year presidency.

Libyan leader Muammar al-Gadafi refused to step down, causing a civil war between his loyalists and rebels… he was eventually killed.

 Time will tell if the Arab Spring will continue to inspire other pro-democracy movements around the world or if it will be replaced by other movements.