Arab Spring or Arab Awaking

‘End of Fear’ is the name of the revolution which started in the Middle East and North African states in 2010. The revolution is also known as the Arab Spring or Arab Awaking because the major countries which came under the influence of this revolution are located in the Arab world, but other states like India and America also faced some kind of demonstration and street protest.

The Arab revolution started when the Tunisian nationalist Muhammad Bouazizi set himself on a fire because of injustice. M. Bouazizi locally known as Basbossa was born in Tunisia, on 29 March 1984.

Bouazizi's father died when he was 3. He worked various jobs since he was ten, he was the sole breadwinner of his family. He started selling the fruits at the age of ten, he even quit his studies to support his family.

According to some news, local police had allegedly targeted and mistreated Bouazizi for years. On the morning of 17 December, he started his work but just after 10:00 am the police began harassing him because he didn’t have the vendor's permit. A lady municipal official slapped him and insulted him and his father publicly. Bouazizi felt humiliation and at 11:30 am he burnt himself Infront of townhall and his cousin shot the whole scenario and that spark turned into fire. 18 days after immolation on 4 January, at 05:30 pm Bouazizi died and more than 5000 people attend the funeral.

The self-immolation of Bouazizi turned the sleeping country into a lion. The shot of Bouazizi's immolation got viral on social media and people started street protests against the ruler Ben Ali and at the end, on 14 January Ben dissolved his government under pressure and circumstances.

The revolution of Tunisia was successful and after that, the revolution spread worldwide. The effects of the revolution spread strongly to five other countries: Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain where either the regime was toppled down or major uprisings and social violence occurred, including riots, civil wars, and insurgency.

Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Sudan. The minor protest occurred in Djibouti, Mauritania, the Palestine National Authority, and Saudi Arabia. A major slogan of the demonstration in the Arab world is ‘THE PEOPLE WANT TO BRING DOWN THE REGIME’.

After the successful revolution of Tunisia, a protest started in Egypt on 25 January 2011 and run for 18 days. The protest was against the ruler of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, who ruled the country for the last 30 years. Within 18 days people through the internet power overthrown the government of Hosni and Morsi came into power but on 3 July 2013 military overthrew the replacement government and Morsi removed from power.

The 3red country which faced the demonstration and revolution was Libya. On 15 February 2011, the anti-government protests began. In late august anti-Gaddafi fighters captured Tripoli, scattering Gaddafi's government and marking the end of his 42 years rule. However, Gadafi was killed, the Civil War continued.

Protests occurred in many towns in both the north and south of Yemen starting in mid-January 2011. Initially, the demand of protesters was to the proposal to modify the constitution of Yemen, unemployment and economic conditions, and corruption. But their demands soon included a call for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. After the massive demonstration by 27 February Saleh had resigned from the presidency and transferred power to his successor but the Civil War continued and international intervention still exists there.

Protest in Syria started on 26 January 2011, when a police officer assaulted a man publicly. On 6, march, the Syrian forces arrested about 15 children in Daraa, in southern Syria, for writing slogans against the government, soon protests erupted over the arrest and the abuse of the children. By March 2012, the government began military operations against the opposition in Idlib Governate by late April 2012. On 12 June 2012, the UN peacekeeping chief in Syria stated that in his view Syria has entered a period of civil war. The exact thing happens and Syria becomes a hub of civil war and international interventions.

Aftermath:

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring in various countries, there was a wave of violence and instability commonly known as the Arab Winter. It was characterized by the extensive civil wars, general regional instability, economic and demographic decline of the Arab League, and overall religious wars between Sunni and Shia.

In Tunisia and Egypt, the existing regimes were ousted and replaced through a process of a free and fair election, the relations were considered short-term successes. But in the countries particularly Syria and Libya, the apparent result of the Arab Spring was a complete societal collapse.

Links for full-fledged articles.

Arab Spring and its reasons:

1. https://worldaffairs88.blogspot.com/2020/03/arab-spring-arab-spring-is-term-that.html

Case study of Tunisia:

1. https://worldaffairs88.blogspot.com/2020/03/arab-spring-in-tunisia.html

Case study of Egypt:

1. https://worldaffairs88.blogspot.com/2020/03/arab-spring-in-egypt-egypt-revolution.html

Case study of Libya:

1. https://worldaffairs88.blogspot.com/2020/04/civil-war-of-libya-2011.html

Case study of Yemen:

1. https://worldaffairs88.blogspot.com/2020/10/arab-spring-in-yemen-part-1-case-study.html (PART-1)

2. https://worldaffairs88.blogspot.com/2020/11/civil-war-in-yemen-causes-of-arab.html (PART-2)