Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Arab spring yields different outcomes in bahrain, egypt and libya. There are at least two diametrically opposed readings on the long and short term impacts of the epochal events of 2011. The reason is that the arab world in the modern, postindependence era, had heretofore been generally quiescent politically in the. Toby matthiesens book strongly and credibly represents a new generation of scholars in gulf studies and is a welcome contribution to the field. Hundreds of thousands of tunisians took to the streets calling for an end to authoritarian rule. We ask if the arab spring has ultimately failed to bring change to libya and bahrain, or if theres hope for the future. The arab spring is widely believed to have been instigated by dissatisfaction, particularly of youth and unions, with the rule of local governments, though some have speculated that wide gaps in income levels and pressures caused by the great recession may have had a hand as well. Jun 19, 2012 the gulf island state is a special case in the context of the uprisings of the arab spring. Miriam joyces bahrain from the twentieth century to the arab spring offers unparalleled insights into the island nations history over the past century.
The government responded by arresting opposition activists. Bahrain follows the same pattern as the rest of the arab spring in that established and officially recognized opposition groups have been led by youth groups on the streets. Arab spring has been regarded as an arab phenomenon from the outset, explanations that are given of the arab spring have been ad hoc and are not representative of the entire arab world. But so far, little has changed in a country where shiite muslims make up most of the. Egyptian revolution, also known as arab spring or arab uprising, was a shock for international community because egypt has been seen as one of the. The arab spring created uncertainty for the economy. The uneven impact of the arab spring on the six arab gulf states ags of kuwait, saudi arabia, bahrain, qatar, oman and the uae has further complicated the theoretical debate on the nature of these small and oilrich states. A t the dawn of the first winter after the arab spring, bahrain is an island of sadness.
The wests response to the arab spring would make a perfect case. In sectarian gulf, toby matthiesen paints a very different picture, offering the first assessment of the arab spring across the region. Reflections from october 2011 to september 20 67 1. Exploring military defections and loyalty in egypt, bahrain, and syria show. 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. In december 2010, protests began against the autocratic government in the northern african country of tunisia. The reasons and economic and political consequences of arab spring 43 egypt, where arab spring lasted longer, is one of the largest countries in africa with its advantages such as its location, tourism revenues and logistics moaddel, 2012.
The roots and causes of the 2011 arab uprisings kamal eldin osman salih abstract. Local youths quickly protested out of sympathy, and the protests. Arab spring yields different outcomes in bahrain, egypt and. Supporting political, security and socioeconomic transition across the arab realm october 2011 geopolicity expertsinmanagingcomplextransition. Bahrains contribution to the arab spring bahrain al. The gaddafi archives libya before the arab spring view gallery an exhibition of photographs, documents and artefacts from the human rights watch archive paints a portrait of libya in the four decades prior to the arab spring. Assessing the arab spring in its second year by mohammed ayoob, april 6, 2012 the arab spring is now over one year old. 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. In tripoli, libya shows how far anyone would go to achieve power estimation of deaths in libya varies from 2,000 to 30,000 between march 2 and september 8 anyone who has an identical name as ghadaffi were put to death. After the arab spring and the fall of mubarak in egypt, it was exactly this alliance that was threatened, creating worries in saudi arabia and israel, which both saw the risk of an islamist egypt opening the gates of the arab middle east to iran. How to think about the middle east before the arab spring. 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. The arab spring was a series of prodemocracy uprisings that enveloped several largely muslim countries, including tunisia, morocco, syria, libya, egypt and bahrain. The arab spring movements that took place in tunisia, egypt and libya had all managed to unseat their dictators by this point and that all that was left of the struggle were small skirmishes going on in some of the.
Between the islamic state and the nationstate the brookings project on u. The 2011 protests in bahrain, which is home to the us navys 5th fleet, were the largest of the arab spring wave of demonstrations to rock the gulf arab states. The arab spring and its effects on the region, the united states, and the international community by devin m. King hamad al khalifa is seen by western governments as a valued ally who plays host to the us fifth. Impact of arab spring on bahrain the college of wooster. Tarek masoud tarek masoud is associate professor of public policy at harvard universitys john f. Causes of the arab spring causes of the arab spring may be described as following. The bahraini government used the spectre of sectarian violence to justify their crackdown on peaceful protesters. Bahrain has been wracked by unrest since in february 2011, when demonstrators occupied manamas pearl roundabout, demanding more democracy and an end to discrimination against the majority shia. For those wishing to understand the evolution of the persian gulf region and the legacy of the superpowers in it, this volume is essential reading.
With firsthand accounts of events in bahrain, saudi arabia, and kuwait, matthiesen tells the story of the early protests, and illuminates how the regimes quickly suppressed these movements. The arab spring has given way to a winter of economic stagnation and violence that has plunged syria, libya and yemen into civil war. Demonstrators expressing political and economic grievances faced violent crackdowns by their countries security forces. Bahrain suffered dramatically from the protests and unrest and it will require a lot of effort from the government to recover. Cnn produced a documentary about the use of internet technology and social media in the arab spring, including a minute segment on the bahraini uprising that reported repressive conduct by the government. What professor abusharif does here is place the arab spring moniker in the context of.
Tunisia and morocco are different in that they are more diversified and depend on agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, and mining. This is an arab revolution 27 atlantic centrism 30 is cairo the next new york. Miriam joyce based on a variety of international sources, this book explores the modern history of bahrain and its international relations. I do believe that al jazeera and other channels were not balanced in dealing with the events, he said. The aim of this chapter is to examine the use of the social media by the bahraini antigovernment movement since the outbreak of the arab spring in bahrain in 2011 till the present day. Bahrains young people mark fifth anniversary of arab spring. Arab spring yields different outcomes in bahrain, egypt. Pathways of repression and reform 2015 and of counting islam. Saudi arabia has played a leading role in opposition to the arab spring. For years, the arab spring states have thwarted the development of alternative leadership outside the governing regimes.
Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the arab uprisings. Arab spring, while the demands of protestors and revolutionaries were more mundane. 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. What the arab spring means for sudan that have unified the bulk of world opinion against them, it seems inevitable that a tipping point will eventually be reached regarding sudan, when one too many atrocities are committed, followed by a unified call for change. The drivers of the arab spring events have first and foremost been the mobilized masses enabled by technology and youth, the role played by the military and regime security forces, and the intervention by outside forces. The armed forces played a decisive role in many of the arab uprisings, particularly the early ones. However, when looking closely at what happened, we see that there is a misusage of the concept of arab. Tunisia, egypt and bahrain s debt to norway by ingrid westgaard stolpestad sponsored by the norwegian church aid and the norwegian coalition for debt cancellation slug october 2011. The daily beast answers six key questions about the uprising. Five years ago, people in bahrain rose up in protest to demand reform, but were met with violence from security forces. Issue brief aftermath of the arab spring in north africa exports, and 98 percent of government revenues.
The revolution that wasnt bahrain put down an uprising and said it would introduce changes. At home the saudi leadership is pursuing a carrotandstick strategy. Reasons for arab spring based on views in developing. Bahrain, saudi arabia, and the arab spring that wasnt stanford briefs kindle edition by matthiesen, toby. Since then, the authorities have continued to arrest, torture and intimidate people who speak out. Mapping the obama administrations response to the arab spring. Disturbances have ranged from protests to full civil war and the overthrow of government. Rethinking western policies in light of the arab uprisings iai. What the arab spring means for sudan enough project. Arab spring and sectarian institute for defence studies. Meanwhile, egyptians rose in revolt as strikes across the country brought daily life to a halt and toppled the government. Ghassan ben jeddo, who had been the head of the beirut bureau before resigning in april 2011, said that al jazeera was biased in covering the arab spring, especially in syria and bahrain. Aug 04, 2011 as the socalled arab spring gives way to the month of ramadan, perhaps now is the time to inject some realism into what some of the consequences are likely to be and their implications for the. Egyptian military is not only in charge of the defence of the country but also.
Protesters gathering on pearl square, april 2011, photo hh. The arab spring and political change in tunisia and egypt. Joins uae, qatar and eu in egypt crisis mediation, national, august 6, 20. We focus on the arab countries in north africa algeria, egypt, libya. In spring 2011 it quickly announced enormous direct and indirect payments to the population, in order to avert protests. The arab spring has been one of the most valiant movements to sweep the middle east for the past few decades, demonstrating the peoples capacity to voice their discontent with authoritarian rule and governments that had largely remained impervious to representative governance, transparency, and accountability for their citizens. The arab spring is therefore both a domestic and a foreign policy issue in saudi arabia. The us found itself a bystander in the region during the arab spring, failing to anticipate it, but given its. 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. But after 2012, the us and the uk were under the impression that the arab spring movement in bahrain was over editors note. Morocco and tunisia and the levant region lebanon, jordan and syria. Download the pdf and write to the authorities today. The role of social media in the arab uprisings pew. The common slogan of the protesters throughout arab spring was the people want to bring down the regime aissa, 2012.
Development of conflict in arab spring libya and syria. In july 2012 a report was published by the united states institute of peace based on an extensive content analysis of bit. Feb 14, 2016 the 2011 protests in bahrain, which is home to the us navys 5th fleet, were the largest of the arab spring wave of demonstrations to rock the gulf arab states. The tide of mass protests that swept through the middle east in early 2011 highlighted the distinct role of modern informationcommunication technologies ict. It is too optimistic to think that existing dilemmas can be easily resolved in this new and changing environment, but the arab spring may provide strong momentum for change. Demystifying the arab spring uc san diego social sciences. Bahrain from the twentieth century to the arab spring. It is widely believed to rebound in the near future. The reasons and economic and political consequences of arab. Arab spring research guide and notes sheet introduction. Bahrain and the global balance of power after the arab spring. When the arab spring inspired young people in bahrain to go. Between expectations and disillusion henner furtig article outline 1 introduction 2 iranian foreign policy and the arab spring 3 reactions in the arab world 4 the struggle for the prerogative of interpretation of the arab spring inside iran 5 conclusion references.
Jun 15, 2011 the arab spring the jasmine revolution the hashtag revolts the uprisings in the arab world. How the bahraini monarchy crushed the countrys arab spring. Alwefaq and other shiite groups alleged widespread voter suppression, particularly in shiite districts. Ascendancy frustrated gulf research center regional politics is now more complicated, with crosscutting alliances and linkages and multiple issues, sectarian, territorial, and political. In bahrain, the government has seemingly reasserted its authority. They also wanted more democracy, and end to corruption, and economic opportunity. From revolution to civil war 78 zones and does not tightly define civil war versus other intrastate conflict. Arab spring used their powers vehemently to crush the demonstrators and consequently the peaceful protesters also became violent. Instead, that spring has given way to a winter of economic stagnation and political violence that has plunged syria, libya and yemen into bloody civil war, has led to widespread unrest in egypt, iraq and bahrain, and threatens to destabilize arab governments from morocco to saudi arabia. Blythe a thesis submitted to johns hopkins university in conformity with the requirements for. Focusing particularly on the countrys relations with great britain and. How do you assess the state of the arab spring in the arab peninsula and the gulf. An exploration of the modern history of bahrain and its international relations, joyce investigates the countrys relati.
The economics of the arab spring and its aftermath world bank. Do bahrainis see their uprising as part of the arab. Cnn aired the documentary only once in the united states and not at all on cnn international. He is the author, with jason brownlee and andrew reynolds, of the arab spring. Read bahrain from the twentieth century to the arab spring by m. Bahrain from the twentieth century to the arab spring middle. Dissatisfaction with government services in arab spring. In much of the popular analysis over the past year the term arab spring has become the defining characteristic of the new middle east emerging from decades of authoritarian and repressive rule. Six years later, little remains of the hopes that the west saw in the arab spring. Pdf the middle east and north africa mena have long been laden with tensions and instabilities.
List of books and articles about arab spring online. Pdf international response to bahrains arab spring. Social media has certainly played a part in the arab spring revolutions but its impact is often exaggerated on the inside. We would like to ask you something fanack is an independent media organisation, not funded by any state or any interest group, that distributes in the middle east and the wider world unbiased analysis and background information, based on facts, about the middle east and north africa. Algeria underwent a political opening too, one that commenced in november 1988 with the adoption of a number of politi cal reforms that seemed to open the way for the dismantling of single. Demystifying the arab spring parsing the differences between tunisia, egypt, and libya lisa anderson in tunisia, protesters escalated calls for the restoration of the countrys suspended constitution. Bahrain, saudi arabia, and the arab spring that wasnt is one of the most concise, wellwritten recent studies on sectarianism in that region. Its origins, evolution and consequences four years on. 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.
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