How islam mattered in the arab uprisings washington post. Arab spring, iran, political islam, middle east, regional. The arab spring started in countries that actually had economic growth. Protests that spread across the region in early 2011 started a longterm process of political and social transformation, marked in the initial stages primarily by political turbulence, economic difficulties, and even conflict. The transition to democracy is proving far from easy for countries affected by the arab spring uprisings. Between the islamic state and the nationstate the brookings project on u. Local youths quickly protested out of sympathy, and the protests. The arab spring jason marshall introduction the arab spring is a blanket term to cover a multitude of uprisings and protests in the middle east that began in the winter of 2010 and continue today. The iransaudi arabia crisis is evidence of the arab springs bloody legacy. List of books and articles about arab spring online.
The arab spring was a series of antigovernment protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across the middle east in early 2011. The protesters were angry that their countries did not give them many rights. Beginning about three years ago in tunisia, and spreading to a number of other arab countries thereafter, what has become known unfortunately as the arab spring took experts, locals and media observers of all stripes by surprise. Join with others in minneapolis on saturday, december 18, to say.
Initiated by iraq peace action coalition for more information, call 6125221861 or 6128275364. Moreover, violence and pervasive political uncertainty across the middle east inflicts its own. The human cost of sanctions on iran in a 1996 interview with 60 minutes, madeline albright, then secretary of state under bill clinton, was asked about the. Arab spring provoked, particularly the role of the media new and otherwise in empowering and even causing the uprisings. Robbins, opinion contributor may 26, 2015 by james s. As iran and saudi arabia wrestle for control over the region, turkeys. The roots and causes of the 2011 arab uprisings kamal eldin osman salih abstract. Iran is a postrevolutionary state, and therefore the. The collapse of the dictatorships in tunisia and egypt were seen in tehran as proof of weakening u. Arab spring intelligence failure holds warning for u. Iran and the arab spring by eskandar sadeghiboroujerdi 02 jun 2011 22. The arab spring was a series of prodemocracy uprisings that enveloped several largely muslim countries, including tunisia, morocco, syria. This pioneering explanation of the arab spring will define a new era of thinking about the middle east. Noted authorities writing specifically for this volume contribute chapters focusing on.
The democratic momentum of the arab spring faltered, while erdo. However, the recent arab uprisings, better known as the arab spring, have intensified volatility. The arab spring unexpectedly developed in late 2010 with peaceful protests in a number of arab countries against longstanding, entrenched regimes, and rapid political change across the region ensued. These demonstrations and protest efforts have all been critical of the government in their respective countries. The dynamics of the arab spring protests depending on political preference, either the islamic revolution of 197879 in iran or the cedar revolution of march 2005 in lebanon is cited as the role model for the arab springs oppositional mobilization. Bahrain this guide lists online and print sources for what has become known as the arab spring, the popular revolutionary wave in the middle east and north africa that started in december 2010. Development of conflict in arab spring libya and syria. Demonstrators expressing political and economic grievances faced violent crackdowns by their countries security forces. Disturbances have ranged from protests to full civil war and.
Arab spring and womens rights council on foreign relations. The impact of the arab spring concerns protests or by the way attempts to organize growing protest movements that were inspired by or similar to the arab spring in the arabmajority states of north africa and the middle east, according to commentators, organisers, and critics. Mehr demokratie talked to salem dawood, the president of the association of international youth, a ngo committed to promote peace, democracy and human rights in iraq. The middle east and north africa mena have long been laden with tensions and instabilities. As the dust of the arab spring settled, the saudi arabian government moved to further consolidate its rule and. The arab spring intelligence failure holds a warning for u. Iraq is increasingly witnessing protests and uprising. And when the smokes clears, it may well find that iran, not democracy, is the real victor from this arab spring. The reasons of arab spring arab spring was triggered by economic hardships and peoples democratic aspirations stepan and linz, 20.
Some observers have argued that the arab spring was a fundamentally secular movement, arising as a rejection of not only the existing regimes, but the. In this landmark book, hamid dabashi argues that the revolutionary uprisings that have engulfed multiple countries and political climes from morocco to iran and from syria to yemen, were driven by a delayed defiance a point of rebellion against domestic tyranny and. The arab springs impact on the middle east has been profound, even if in many places its final outcome might not become clear for at least a generation. How to think about the middle east before the arab spring. Five years after the arab spring, most middle eastern countries have either devolved into chaos or restored autocracy in a bid for stability at the expense of regions burgeoning desire for freedom. In this landmark book, hamid dabashi argues that the revolutionary uprisings that have engulfed multiple countries and political climes from morocco to iran and from syria to yemen, are driven by a delayed defiance a point of rebellion against domestic tyranny and globalized. In syria, a peace plan was delivered not by a sunni arab power, but by russia, iran and turkey. Thi s researc h articl e attempts to scrutinize the nature and cause s of the ara b uprising s which too k people by surpris e globall y throughou t 2011 and int o 2012. While interconnected, uprisings in each nation took different forms and reached. The movement started with a rifbased focus, demanding an inquiry into fikris death and previous mysterious killings during the 2011 arab springinspired protests. Analysis of the arab spring 3 blunders in state response, in particular using a heavyhanded approach and trying to crush opposition, had the reverse effect of galvanising more people to join the protests icg, 2011b and 2011d. The arab spring antidictatorship movement spread across north africa and the middle east in the months that followed. Learn how the arab spring started in tunisia in 2011, causing a ripple effect of democratic demonstrations in countries throughout the middle east and north africa. Soon it has grown in size and influence, impacting neighbor states.
A year ago this weekend a 26yearold tunisian named mohamed bouazizi set himself on fire. The reason is that the arab world in the modern, postindependence era, had heretofore been generally quiescent politically in the face of authoritarian. This pioneering elucidation of the arab spring will define a new era of thinking about the middle east. The postarab spring geopolitical instability and its effects on. Iran will benefit from this arab spring financial times. Heres how the arab spring started and how it affected the. The role of information communication technologies in the arab spring pdf. On international womens day, minky worden of human rights watch discusses why women are losing in the movement for change in the arab. Journal of economic perspectivesvolume 26, number 2spring 2012pages 167188 i nn december 2010, the selfimmolation of a tunisian fruit vendor sparked what december 2010, the selfimmolation of a tunisian fruit vendor sparked what hhas come to be termed the arab spring. It began in response to oppressive regimes and a low standard of living, starting with protests in tunisia noueihed, 2011. But their purpose, relative success, and outcome remain hotly disputed in arab countries, among foreign observers, and between world powers looking to cash in on the changing map of the middle east.
The reasons and economic and political consequences of. The arab spring represented a rejection of the secular, socialist, panarabism, nationalist, military regimes that had come to power in the period from the. Sustained street demonstrations took place in morocco, iraq, algeria, iranian khuzestan, lebanon, jordan, kuwait, oman and sudan. The writer is a senior fellow at the saban center for middle east policy at the. The arab spring began at the end of 2011, and was triggered by a tunisian man who burned himself to death in a desperate act of protest after being humiliated by the police. Six years after the arab spring, morocco is experiencing. Change and resistance in the middle east examines these revolutions and their aftermath. Iran and the arab spring tehran bureau frontline pbs. The arab spring uprisings of 2011 triggered a wide set of social movements and regime change across the middle east and north africa. The arab spring gained its ground in countries like egypt and tunisia. Operation iran was founded during the protests which followed the countrys 2009 contested presidential election. Arab spring simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Arising in large part in reaction to economic stresses, societal changes, and entrenched corrupt and repressive rule, the arab spring began in tunisia in dec. Turkeys failed policy toward the arab spring department of.
Demonstrators expressing political and economic grievances faced violent crackdowns by. Iran 2009 protests about the 2009 iranian presidential election reelection of president president mahmoud ahmadinejad ahmadinejad. The arab spring, also called the arab awakening, is a term used to refer to a wave of peaceful and violent demonstrations, civil unrest, and civil war that began with the collapse of the. Are you asking whether the us government may have intentionally instigated unrest in a covert manner. The december 18 event will be a visible display of peace and antiwar sentiment with signs, banners and antiwar holiday carols. The iransaudi arabia crisis is evidence of the arab. Arab spring, wave of prodemocracy protests and uprisings that took place in the middle east and north africa beginning in 2010, challenging some of the regions entrenched authoritarian regimes.
Irans reactions to the arab spring and the crisis in syria. Which iranian uprising does the arab spring bring to mind. The green movement of 2009, which challenged the pillars of the islamic republic of. Included are the results of a bibliometric study that compared the frequency in which various descriptors appeared in major englishlanguage news sources. Is there solid evidence of us involvement in the arab spring.