What are the effects of Arab Spring and its effect on the Middle East?

What is Arab Spring?

What are the effects of Arab Spring and its effect on the Middle East?

Why Middle East countries are called so?

ARAB SPRING

The Arab Spring refers to a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across the Middle East in early 2011. The term “Arab Spring” was popularized by the Western media in early 2011, when the successful uprising in Tunisia against former leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali emboldened similar anti-government protests in most Arab countries. 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.

Why the Name the “Arab Spring”?

The term was use with a reference to the turmoil in Eastern Europe in 1989, when seemingly impregnable Communist regimes began falling down under pressure from mass popular protests in a domino effect. In a short period of time, most countries in the former Communist bloc adopted democratic political systems with a market economy. But the events in the Middle East went in a less straightforward direction. Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen entered an uncertain transition period, Syria and Libya were drawn into a civil conflict, while the wealthy monarchies in the Persian Gulf [Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman etc.]  remained largely unshaken by the events. The use of the term the “Arab Spring” has since been criticized for being inaccurate and simplistic.

What Was the Aim of Arab Spring Protests?

The protest movement of 2011 was at its core an expression of deep-seated resentment at the ageing Arab dictatorships (some glossed over with rigged elections), anger at the brutality of the security apparatus, unemployment, rising prices, and corruption that followed the privatization of State assets in some countries. But unlike the Communist Eastern Europe in 1989, there was no consensus on the political and economic model that existing systems should be replaced with. Protesters in monarchies like Jordan and Morocco wanted to reform the system under the current rulers, some calling for an immediate transition to constitutional monarchy, others content with gradual reform. People in republican regimes like Egypt and Tunisia wanted to overthrow the president, but other than free elections they had little idea on what to do next.

And, beyond calls for greater social justice there was no magic wand for the economy. Leftist groups and unions wanted higher wages and a reversal of dodgy privatization deals, others wanted liberal reforms to make more room for the private sector. Some hard-line Islamists were more concerned with enforcing strict religious norms. All political parties promised more jobs but none came close to developing a program with concrete economic policies.

What are the effects of Arab Spring and its effect on the Middle East?

The Arab Spring’s 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. Protests that spread across the region in early 2011 started a long-term process of political and social transformation, marked in the initial stages primarily by political turbulence, economic difficulties, and even conflict.

1. End of some of the unaccountable Governments:

The biggest single achievement of the Arab Spring was in demonstrating that Arab dictators/rulers can be removed through a grassroots popular revolt, rather than a military coup or foreign intervention as was the norm in the past. By the end of 2011, the governments in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen were swept away by popular revolts, in an unprecedented show of people power.

The net result is that all the governments across the region have been forced into reform, aware that corruption, incompetence and police brutality will no longer be unchallenged.

2. Explosion of Political Activity:

The Middle East has witnessed an explosion of political activity, particularly in the countries where the revolts successfully removed the long-serving leaders. Hundreds of political parties, civil society groups, newspapers, TV stations and online media have been launched, as Arabs scramble to reclaim their country from ossified ruling elites. In Libya, where all political parties were banned for decades under Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi’s regime, no less than 374 party lists contested the 2012 parliamentary elections.

Several organizations are trying to occupy the political space ranging from far-left organizations to liberals and hard-line Islamists (Salafis). The voters also are confused in emerging democracies, such as Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, as they were provided too many choices, from that of single option they had before. The Arab Spring’s “children” are still developing firm political allegiances, and it will take time before mature political parties take roots in the country.

3. Instability: Islamist-Secular Divide:

The hopes for a smooth transition to stable democratic systems were quickly dashed, however, as deep divisions emerged over new constitutions and the speed of reform. In Egypt and Tunisia in particular, the society divided into Islamist and secular camps that fought bitterly over the role of Islam in politics and society. In Egypt for the same reasons, the Mohammed Morsi government in Egypt is overthrown within a short time and the situation is very volatile, leading to clashes between the supporters of overthrown president (Islamists) and opponents (secularists).  

It became clear that the Arab Spring has brought in a prolonged period of political instability, unleashing all the political, social and religious divisions which were kept under the carpet by the former regimes.

4. Conflict and Civil War:

In some countries, the breakdown of the old order led to armed conflict. Unlike in most of Communist Eastern Europe at the end of 1980s, the Arab regimes didn’t give up easily, while the opposition failed to forge a common front. The conflict in Libya ended with the victory of anti-government rebels relatively swiftly only due to the intervention of the NATO alliance and Gulf Arab states. The uprising in Syria, a multi-religious society, has forced it into a long drawn civil war, with no solution to in sight. The worst is that the civil war is prolonged and became brutal due to intervention World Powers, albeit with vested interest, supporting either side of the warring factions.  

5. Sunni-Shiite Tension:

The tension between the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam in the Middle East had been on the rise since around 2005, when large parts of Iraq exploded in violence between Shiites and Sunnis. Sadly, the Arab Spring reinforced this trend in several countries. Faced with the uncertainty of seismic political changes, many people sought refuge in their religious community.

The protests in the Sunni-ruled Bahrain were largely the work of the Shiite majority which demanded greater political and social justice. Most Sunnis, even those critical of the regime, were scared into siding with the government. In Syria, most members of the Alawite religious minority sided with the regime (President Bashar al-Assad is Alawite), drawing deep resentment from the majority Sunnis.

6. Economic Uncertainty:

The all pervading youth unemployment and poor living conditions, in most of the Middle East countries was one of the key factors that led to the Arab Spring. But, the focus has now shifted completely on the division of power between the stake holders or energies are lost in the civil war, and therefore the conditions became worse and the debate on economic reforms aiming at creation of employment has taken the back seat. Meanwhile, ongoing unrest deters investors and scares off foreign tourists.

Removing corrupt dictators was a positive step for the future, but ordinary people remain a long time away from seeing tangible improvements in their economic conditions and employment opportunities.

Conclusion:

The positive effects of the so called “Arab Spring” are installation of accountable regimes in some countries; hope of bringing accountability in certain countries in tune with the aspirations of their subjects; explosion of political activity and freedom of press may go a long way in establishing popular governments in some countries; smashed the myth of Arabs’ political passivity and the perceived invincibility of ruling elites and created a panic and fear among the rulers to thing seriously on public welfare. The negative fall-out of the Arab Spring are division of people on religion and sectarian lines which are very difficult to be settled; some countries are dragged into civil war with no direction and solution in near future; the region has slipped into political and economic instability, as transformation of decades of authoritarian regimes into democracies will take lot of time and energy of the countries; mass exodus of people and deteriation of living conditions; the foreign intervention in the internal affairs of these countries may prolong the civil wars and result into the formation of dummy or weak governments and delay the political and economic development of the region.  

Why Middle East countries are called so? & who are its members?

Middle East is Eurocentric name to the region located between the china and Japan (Far East) and the Europe which is located in west of these countries. In other worlds, the Europeans described this region as Middle East in relation to Europe or The West. First it was popularized by American Navan officer in 1902 and later by the British during the years of colonization. [Although at times in history the Near East denoted the Balkans, it now generally means the Middle East plus Turkey and Iran.] Despite this, the term is now accepted and even people in the Middle East call it that (Al-Sharq Al-Awasat means Middle East in Arabic). The issue of why the Middle East is called the Middle East is an interesting example of how simple geographic names are emeshed in geopolitics and can shift in meaning over time.
            The countries which constitute Middle East are Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunicia, Turkey, U.A.E (United Arab Emirates] and Yemen.  

Country specific additional information under the process of “Arab Spring”

Tunisia

Protests against the government of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who took office in a 1987 coup, sparked the Arab Spring with the act of one street vendor. Mohamed Bouazizi, 26, sold produce out of a small wheelbarrow, the only way he had to make a living and support his mother, uncle and siblings. Bouazizi was repeatedly harassed and publicly humiliated by officials as he tried to sell his wares, and he lacked the money to bribe police to continue his sales unfettered. Demanding his confiscated wares outside the governor's office on Dec. 17, 2010, which refused to hear his complaints, Bouazizi set himself on fire. He suffered burns over 90 percent of his body and succumbed to his injuries on Jan. 4, 2011. More than 5,000 people joined the funeral procession, and the protests fueled by numerous social and political grievances began. Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14, 2011, becoming the first ruler ousted by the Arab Spring. Meanwhile, the youth- and social-media fueled protests began to catch on in other countries. Tunisia held its first elections after the Arab Spring in October 2011, with voter turnout at more than 90 percent. Moncef Marzouki was elected as the interim President of Tunisia. Marzouki was appointed on 2011 December 13 after the 2010-2011 Tunisian Revolution which saw long time President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ousted, and a new national constitution drawn up. The general elections are going to be held during October-December, 2013.

Egypt

The peaceful protests began on Jan. 25, 2011, and, though they would spread across the country, centered mainly on Cairo's Tahrir Square ("Liberation Square"). The grievances were many: crackdowns on free speech that included jail time for insulting President Hosni Mubarak, police brutality that had been captured on film by a grass-roots generation of Egyptian social-media activists for years, economic woes including high unemployment and food prices, a lack of political freedom and more. The millions protesters represented all walks of Egyptian life, and ranged from secularists to the Muslim Brotherhood. Mubarak's government tried to clamp down the protests with tactics ranging from curfew to violent clashes in which at least 135 protesters were killed. Murbarak also tried dissolving his government and appointing a vice president, which did not satisfy the protesters who sought his ouster. Though he initially expressed determination to hold on to his 30-year reign, Mubarak resigned on Feb. 11. With opposition leaders including Mohamed El Baradei waiting in the wings, interim power was turned over to the Egyptian military before elections could be held. Mubarak was later charged with killing protesters and ordered to stand trial. In the difficult post-revolution transition, protesters have returned to Tahrir to demand speedier reforms. A presidential election was set for spring 2012 and Shri. Mohammed Morsi led government has come to power. He has been forced to step-down under a military coup during July, 2013 and judge of Supreme court has been taken over as interim president.  

Libya

The Arab Spring predictably spread to Tunisia's neighbor, but few could have predicted that the Libyan people would be successful in toppling brutal dictator Moammar Gadhafi - with a good dose of air support from NATO. Catching the fever of the Arab Spring, Libyans began peaceful protests on Feb. 15, 2011, but were quickly met with force from the Gadhafi regime. Libyans then turned to force to battle the regime, sparking civil war. Gadhafi and his son Saif al-Islam would be charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court for the vicious actions they would take against Libyans to quell the dissent. The rebels first took the eastern part of the country, including the port city of Benghazi, where the National Transitional Council, or opposition governing body, was formed. The rebels were aided in their fight by a no-fly zone put in place by the United Nations and a NATO air campaign to enforce this. After much push and pull between Gadhafi forces and rebels, Tripoli fell in a weeklong August 2011 battle. Gadhafi was captured and killed on Oct. 20, 2011, and the NTC declared Libya's liberation on Oct. 23, 2011. Rough estimates indicate some 25,000 to 30,000, including civilians, were killed in the fight to oust Gadhafi. Political parties were banned under Gadhafi, but the liberation of Libya cleared the way for free elections and a national constitution.

Syria

Inspired by other Arab Spring movements, protests began against the brutal rule of Bashar al-Assad on Jan. 26. 2011. The ongoing protests escalated to an uprising in March 2011, with thousands taking to the streets in numerous cities to demand the ouster of Assad. Protests have regularly been launched by Friday prayers. The protests have been met with brutal government force, including tanks and sniper fire, in which more than 3,000 protesters have been killed, including many children. Because of the strict repression of free media and foreign press, activists have relied on various channels through which to post video and verbal accounts of what has been unfolding inside the country. This has included disappearances and family members taken into custody to lure out their kin who have been participating in protests, torture of detainees and killings of soldiers who refuse to fire on civilians, and reports of harm inflicted on medical workers who treat injured protesters. The crackdowns and government sieges resulted in an influx of Syrians trying to flee to Turkey, but Syrian government forces have monitored the border and arrested anyone trying escape. Assad claimed he would put in places greater freedoms for political parties, but has made no offer to step down. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria has loosely drawn together the opposition, reaching out to the varied groups within the protests and regularly posting blog updates and video of the daily demonstrations.

Yemen

Protests began against the rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been president since 1978, in January 2011, demanding for Saleh to step down and for greater freedoms. Demonstrations have also been rooted in core economic concerns, including unemployment and corruption. They've been marked by the color pink, which protest leaders chose to indicate that the demonstrations were nonviolent. Tawakul Karman (pictured), a leader of the protests called "Mother of the Revolution," was one of the recipients of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. Protests led to the Feb. 3, 2011, "Day of Rage," the day after Saleh promised to not run for another term in 2013. Crackdowns on the demonstrators have resulted in nearly 1,800 deaths, by some estimates, and international condemnation; clashes between pro- and anti-Saleh forces have intensified. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula seized on the unrest to take control of a southern region and declare it an Islamic Emirate. On June 3, 2011, Saleh was injured in a firebombing of the presidential compound; he flew to Saudi Arabia for treatment yet returned and resumed his presidential post three months later. He has been urged to sign a Gulf-mediated power transfer agreement.