Protests against antishia discrimination followed in february and early march in qatif, hofuf, alawamiyah, and riyadh. Local youths quickly protested out of sympathy, and the protests. 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. What this is all about is the arab spring, and bashar assad is next, us senator john mccain said in a television broadcast. 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. Between the islamic state and the nationstate the brookings project on u. At the outset of the arab spring during the upheavals in tunisia and egypt, but also during the protests in bahrain and. 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. Postsoviet russia, with its oligarchs, crony capitalism and corruption, is a petri dish for frustrated achievers. The spark that ignited the arab spring if you would like to comment, please visit our facebook page. The armed forces played a decisive role in many of the arab. The very idea that the arab spring could succeed is an existential threat, not to russia of course, but to those who would rule it for their own enrichment.
It began in response to oppressive regimes and a low standard of living, starting with protests in tunisia noueihed, 2011. The situation began to change after world war ii, when, flush with vic. This makes islam the second most widely professed religion in russia. The suspension of the nato russia council and russia s exclusion from the g8 created a fear concerning the question of whether the sparks of the cold war are once again being ignited. The arab spring its impact on the region and on the middle east conference of the regime and within the regime, with the former comprising tunisia, egypt, and libya and the latter including jordan and saudi arabia. List of books and articles about arab spring online. 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. According to russian foreign minister sergei lavrov, the arab spring was the harvest of seeds sown by bush jnr. The arab spring five years later geopolitical futures. Andrew lewis, 22, is a member of telecomix, western hacktivists helping protesters in the middle east evade regime. Russia s anxieties about the arab revolution by stephen blank stephen blank is a professor at the strategic studies institute, us army war college, carlisle barracks, pa. More than an arab spring 37 a tsunami of change 39 the arab versus the french revolution 40 iii. Within a few months, a wave of protest had swept away the despots of tunisia, egypt and libya. Ten thousand web pages and sites have been banned in russia since 2012, and a new 2014 law requires any blogger with more than 3,000 hits per day to register.
Triggers, dynamics and prospects stephan rosiny on 17 december 2010, the selfimmolation of tunisian vegetable vendor mohammed bouazizi sparked the arab spring. Russias growing influence in the postarab spring middle east. The nineteen 911 hijackers were muslims 911 families. Even places like china and russia and other places, they are very. What does the arab spring mean for russia, central asia, and the. The protests in saudi arabia were part of the arab spring that started with the 2011 tunisian revolution. Pdf the middle east and north africa mena have long been laden with tensions and instabilities. For the rest, typing arab spring or arab uprisings on the site of a wellstocked online bookstore e.
Dubcek attempted to implement a wide range of reforms, including decentralization of the economy and lifting restrictions on the press, but his efforts were shortlived. How islam mattered in the arab uprisings washington post. Russia s involvement included a request for president dmitry medvedev to find a solution for the libyan conflict at the 2011 g8 meeting in deauville, whereupon margelov was sent to benghazi to speak with representatives of the national transitional council and. Three experts discussed how a range of domestic and regional changes in the middle east have generated new challenges for u. Marxist circles and parties set up in the arab world with moscows help had little influence, and local liberation movements did not depend on the bolsheviks. The ukrainian crisis brought forward claims that relations between russia and the west retrograded to an alltime low of the postcold war period. One consequence of the rise of social media is the emergence of what way calls leaderless protests.
The transition to democracy is proving far from easy for countries affected by the arab spring uprisings. Congressional research service 1 historical background since 1952, when a cabal of egyptian army officers, known as the free officers movement, ousted the britishbacked king, egypts military has produced four presidents. Us backing for arab spring bearing strange fruit rt. In the post arab spring order syrian president bashar alassad has remained one of the few leaders in the revolting arab countries who wasnt overthrown, like libyas muammar gaddafi, or forced to stepdown, like egypts hosni mubarak. How the arab spring sparked innovation and creativity cnn. By june 2011, the arab revolutions had evolved into a series of disconnected. On april 8, 2014, the united states institute of peace and the middle east program held a meeting, beyond the arab spring. Guide to writing a dissertation on the arab spring il. In 1968, alexander dubcek was elected first secretary of the communist party of czechoslovakia. A catalyst for ideas distributed via email and posted at. Reflections from october 2011 to september 20 67 1. Part of the move was clearly to ensure that russia did not lose its only arab ally. International reactions to the arab spring wikipedia. What does the arab spring mean for russia, central asia.
The reason is that the arab world in the modern, postindependence era, had heretofore been generally quiescent politically in the face of authoritarian. Russias anxieties about the arab revolution foreign policy. A facebook organiser of a planned 11 march day of rage, faisal ahmed. Middle east, arab spring, tunisia, entrepreneurship, mohamed bouazizi, north africa, political reform, arab world responses to mohamed bouazizi. The middle east and north africa mena have long been laden with tensions and instabilities. Instead, the global changes facing these earlycareer policy makers include the arab spring, the ukrainian revolution, a confrontation between russia and the west, and the various trials and tribulations of the eu that will all continue to play.
In moscow and central russia, the real spring usually arrives in april. 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. Opinion russian winter and arab spring the new york times. The third lesson of the russian winter is one it has in common with the arab spring. As egyptians savour an historic day, here is an updated regionwide democracy scorecard. Development of conflict in arab spring libya and syria. Cbre, the foremost commercial real estate firm in the world, began operations in the minneapolisst.
Russia repeats western mistakes in arab spring human. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the us army, defense department, or the u. The arab spring and its impact on the situation in africa. Egyptian military is not only in charge of the defence of the country but also. It was no surprise to syria watchers, then, when russia began its trade wars against ukraine and other soontobeeuassociates in. Developments in syria from the arab spring 2011 to 20 abu musab alzarqawis founding of isil 20 syrian president bashar alassad took power in 2000, continuing the reign of his father, hafez alassad. How to think about the middle east before the arab spring. Some went as far as to predict the arab spring would spread all across the world. It was no surprise to syria watchers, then, when russia began its trade wars against ukraine and other soontobeeuassociates in the summer of 20. The general trend is prorussian and very critical of the arab spring. The most dramatic events of the arab spring happened in libya, the speaker argued.
This pioneering explanation of the arab spring will define a new era of thinking about the middle east. The international reactions to the arab spring have been disparate, including calls for expanded liberties and civil rights in many authoritarian countries of the middle east and north africa in late 2010 and 2011. The russian government, like its counterparts in the west, the middle east. The first protests of the arab spring in tunisia in december 2010 were quickly dismissed as another bout of bread riots. The hacktivists of telecomix lend a hand to the arab spring. Moscow russia is repeating the mistakes of western governments during the arab spring by continuing to support a longstanding authoritarian ally. So is russia experiencing an arab spring, only in the russian winter. The term arab spring is borrowed from the prague spring. July 2011 russia s anxieties about the arab revolution by stephen blank stephen blank is a professor at the strategic studies institute, us army war college, carlisle barracks, pa.
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. Thus, for russia the arab spring uprisings, especially in egypt, libya and syria, got lumped together with the color revolutions in postsoviet eurasia in a way. The arab spring has highlighted structural and systemic causal factors common to both the middle east and north africa mena region and eurasia. Engagement in a changing middle east with daniel brumberg, senior adviser, center for middle east and africa, united states. However, the recent arab uprisings, better known as the arab spring, have intensified volatility. According to the opinion that formed in russia, the arab spring revolutions were the deferred result of the mideast policy of george bush jnr. The birds fly back north to russia, the green grass grows and trees get a fresh set of leaves, but all this happens much later. Cbre leads the region with hundreds of professionals working together delivering superior service to our clients through diverse service lines. The protests spread to five other countries thereafter. It was these twin fears which prompted the russian leadership to adopt an uncompromizing stance towards syria. In the wake of the arab spring and the global financial crisis, focus has been on the worlds new and socalled disrupted society. Gamal abdel nasser 19541970, anwar sadat 19701981, hosni mubarak 19812011, and abdel fattah al sisi 20present. The reasons and economic and political consequences of.
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