After the Spring
The Arab Spring brought people on to the streets in their thousands, toppled two regimes and forced dictators to promise reform. Researchers look into the background to this unprecedented period of uprisings and the future for the democratic movement. By Arild Foss
O Revolution
n 17 December 2010 the Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set fire to himself in protest after the police confiscated his fruit and vegetables.
His act of defiance triggered demonstrations and mass protests, not only in Tunisia, but also in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Morocco, Jordan, Oman, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Over the course of a few weeks the regimes of Tunisia and Egypt had toppled, rebels were fighting in Libya, demonstrators were under fire in Syria, and sweeping reforms were being promised. The sheer scale and speed of the uprisings
across North Africa and the Middle East – fuelled by social media and reports from neighbouring countries – has been unprecedented. “We are in
Civil War Sustained civil disorder and governmental changes
a period of historic change in the region of a type and scale not witnessed since the emergence of the Middle East’s nation states,” says Professor Anoush Ehteshami, Joint Director of the ESRC-funded Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World. Discontent and anger with food prices, corruption, nepotism and heavy-handed dictators had been simmering for a long time. When a large- scale reaction did come, it was rooted in people’s own frustration, and not pushed by particular groups with their own agendas. “These movements are home-grown,” emphasises Professor Ehteshami. “They have tended to be largely peaceful and progressive, and largely secular.” Professor Caroline Rooney, Fellow in the RCUK Global Uncertainties Programme, was based in Cairo during 2009-2010 to study how security
Protests and governmental changes Major protests Minor
Tunisia Morocco
Lebanon
Israeli border Jordan
Western Sahara
Algeria
Libya
Egypt
Mauritania
Sudan
10 SOCIETY NOW SUMMER 2011
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