Arab Spring

The Arab Spring (or the Arab Revolutions) refers to the recent revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world.

A revolution (from the Latin revolutio, "a turn around") is a significant change that takes place in a relatively short period of time.

What kinds of revolutions have brought significant changes to humans and their earth? Political (examples- “American Revolution” and “Russian Revolution”) Social (examples- “Civil Rights Movement” and “Internet Revolution”) Economic (examples-“Scientific Revolution”, “Industrial Revolution” and “Green Revolution”)

Since December, 2010 there have been revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt; a civil war in Libya; civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen; major protests in Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman.

The protests have shared characteristics of civil resistance (protests by the public) in sustained campaigns…

…involving strikes, demonstrations, marches and rallies.

Protesters were generally young people, who also 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.

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

Citizens have exercised their natural rights of free speech, assembly, and petition, to create a wave of unrest…

Numerous factors led to the protests, but most focused on the overthrow of authoritarian leaders.

Some governments were dictatorships (rule by one man), while others were absolute monarchies (power held by a king/queen with total authority).

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

and a large percentage of educated but dissatisfied youth within the population.

These young people studied in democratic nations, where they learned the value of representative government and civil rights, such as found in our First Amendment.

Regional Changes:

In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak resigned after two weeks days of massive protests, ending his 30-year presidency.

Protests in Jordan have also caused King Abdullah to form a new government with newly appointed officials…

Libyan leader Muammar al-Gadafi refused to step down, causing a civil war …

Tunisia ousted its President for an elected assembly

In YEMEN, the President and his family fled the country…

In OMAN, an elected legislature was created…

Morocco: Ongoing protests resulted in voting for Constitutional reforms

In SYRIA, protests have resulted in a continue civil war…

The outside world has also become involved in the events of the Arab Spring…

In spring of 2011, a United Nations Security Council Resolution was adopted, authorizing a no-fly zone over Libya, and approved "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.

Two days later, France, the United States and the United Kingdom intervened in Libya with a bombing campaign against pro-Gaddafi forces. (A coalition of 27 states from Europe and the Middle East soon joined the intervention, too.)

Time will tell if the events of the Arab Spring will continue to influence and inspire other pro-democracy movements around the world.

What ideals from the First Amendment brought about such changes?

Arab Spring