In late 2010, a Tunisian named Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest against the poor economic situation in which he was living (CNN, 2011). Other Tunisians soon took the opportunity to resist their government and possible overthrow the leadership of Ben Ali. They took it as their responsibility to fight for the common good. Simple demonstration against the Tunisian government soon went ahead to an extent that Ben Ali had to leave the country. The events that followed the departures of the Tunisian president were the least expected. The revolts in Tunisia spurred citizens of other Arab nations to revolt against their governments. By the end of the years 2011, the Arab spring had claimed the presidency of three long serving presidents and resulted into deaths of thousands of people, including former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. The incidences in Egypt were particularly phenomenon as a less significant protest by youths at Cairo’s Tahrir Square soon became viral and attracted thousands of protesters that finally lad to the change of guard in the leadership of Egypt.
All not violent activities are only supported if they are aimed at achieving common good and are justifiable. The revolt in Egypt was triggered by the young people given the fact that they are generally the ones who shoulder the biggest portion of the repercussions of the failed political status quo. The increase in global food prices that was witnessed in the year 2010 made the life of jobless youth and women even worse (All & Macharia, 2013). They felt short of life’s full opportunities and rewards, with reference to education, jobs, income and the general comfort. This justifies their reason for staging mass protests, refusing to be cajoled in either the legit...
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A key argument expressed within “A Force More Powerful” is that non-violent protest is an effective method to motivate social and political change. The documentary provides three case studies as historical instances where non-violent protest met high levels of success. A main purpose of the filmmakers is to investigate the non-violent aspects of popular uprisings that had been previously underestimated in terms of their contribution to a larger conflict. The instances taken as case studies are all of groups marginalised due to racial, colonial, and economic reasons. The histories of the conflicts from which arise the case studies are given only briefly, with a focus upon the groups shown to be oppressed by their respective states and governmental institutions.
In 2010 the Middle East experienced a disturbing series of protests and riots against the government. The term Arab Spring was coined as an allusion for the 1848 revolutions that rocked the Arab world. This devastating revolution saw its inception in a chain of small scale protests for the democratization of the Arabian governments. With its start in Egypt and Tunisia it has not failed in affecting every Arab country from Libya, Sudan and Morocco in the West to Yemen and Saudi Arabia in the East. A branch of the same revolution has successfully managed to become the cause for a civil war outbreak in Syria and even stretched its influence outside the Arab world to affect Iran and Mali.
Johnston, Hank. State Violence and Oppositional Protest in High-Capacity Authoritarian Regimes. International Journal of Conflict and Violence. Vol.6 2012. Pag. 55-74
Egypt’s government began to struggle with protestors and civil war earlier in 2011. They were having issues keeping crime rate down and keeping people from protesting against President Morsi because he wasn’t fulfilling the promises he made. To help control these conflicts, police were given live ammunition and were told to keep the protests at bay (Abi-Habib). Police were seen shooting into crowds of protestors and used tear gas...
Early 2011 uprisings swept across the Middle East and North Africa, and many rebellions are still going on today. The Arab region has seen revolts and conflict since the 1800‘s, but only recently have these revolts been redirected to the problems of Arab society (Ghannam, J. 2011 pg 4-5)The Arab Spring Uprising was first sparked in Tunisia and eventually struck Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen and then spread to other countries. Citizens throughout these countries were dissatisfied with the rule of their local governments. Issues like human rights violations, political corruption, economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, dictators...
Oil is very important in the United States. We need it heat, electricity, asphalt, cars, etc. In Seth Jones’ article “The Mirage of the Arab Spring” he writes that the “United States imports about 23 percent of its crude oil and related products from the Arab world”. Saudi Arabia is our second biggest foreign supplier of oil (Canada is our first). If the United States stops buying oil from the Arab world and does not provide a substitute as good or better than oil then there will probably be mass protests. I lived in a house for 18 out the 20 years of my life that was heated by oil. If there was an oil shortage during the winter me and my family would probably be turned into popsicles. Also, Americans would probably go crazy and complain
Nonviolent protests such as Gandhi’s Indian independence movement (from Britain) have shown to be highly more effective than violent protest.一Even Though, Gandhi was assassinated, his movement was a success and his legacy lived on; he’s much like King in that way.一 In fact, two women, Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan did a study on the effectiveness and success rates of nonviolent and violent protest in comparison to each other and wrote a book titled “Why Civil Resistance Works”. The book provides statistics that show that nonviolent protest are a lot more successful than violent protest. Chenoweth and Stephan analyze these statistics alongside results from case studies in different countries. Once they conclude that nonviolent protests are more effective, they proceed to analyze the reason why. They came to the deduced that one reason nonviolent protests are more successful is that more people feel inclined to participate in nonviolent protest because they are not risking their lives or obstructing their values. Another reason they believed nonviolent protests are more successful is that a government is less likely to retaliate against a nonviolent protest because they would lose international support based on conflict of morality. Also, a government overthrown sans violence is more likely to become democratic whereas a government overthrown
What is often called “the spark that started it all,” occurred on December 17, 2011 in Tunisia. A street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest the corruption of the government. (Arab Spring, 2013) The 26 year old Bouazizi sold vegetables on the streets of Tunisia to make a living. His self-immolation was brought on when his cart of vegetables was confiscated by a policewoman. (Abouzeid, 2011) Bouazizi then went to the provincial headquarters to complain to officials about his situation. However, they refused to see him. Angered at the way he was being treated, Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest. (Abouzeid, 2011) He was taken to the hospital and stayed there until his death on January 4, 2011. Bouazizi’s self-immolation caused such an uproar that even Tunisia’s dictator, President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, visited him in the hospital. Bouazizi’s mother, Mannoubia, said, “Mohamed did what he did for the sake of his dignity. He lives on, his name lives on. I am proud of what happened in Tunis, I am proud that he is known throughout the Arab World.” (Abouzeid, 2011) Bouazizi’s self-immolation had such a huge impact on Tunisia that Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14.
In the Arab world in late 2010, starting in Tunisia and flowering in Egypt, a movement of people frustrated by their governments, corrupt leaders and a lack of jobs suddenly felt safe to take to the streets. The Arab Spring began when a young Tunisian man set himself on fire to protest government corruption and poor economic conditions. This action inspired a wave of protests across Tunisia, which ultimately resulted in the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power.
To properly determine the factors affecting success or failure of a revolution, it is first necessary to clearly define what is meant by ‘revolution’. Robert Dix defines revolution as “a process intended by its initiator to win power by violent means, in order to effect a radical restructuring of a country's polity, economy, society, and external relationships.” (Dix 1983, 423) Skocpol furthermore says that “[T]he word ‘revolution’ [has a] modern connotation of a fundamental socio-political change accompanied by violent upheavals from below.” (Skocpol 1988, 151) Both of these definitions take violence as a necessary part of a revolution. That, however, is too narrow a view. It is possible for revolutionaries to use other means, such as strikes and n...
"IRIN Middle East | SYRIA: Wealth gap widening as inflation hits poor | Syria | Economy." IRIN • humanitarian news and analysis from Africa, Asia and the Middle East - updated daily. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012
By Fire: Writings on the Arab Spring by Tahar Ben Jelloun is a book about the injustices that took place in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region before and during the Arab Spring revolt. Ben Jelloun entirety of his work is written in French, although his first language is Arabic. Today he lives in Paris and continues to write. He has been short-listed for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Translated by Rita Nezami from French to English and published in 2016 by Northwestern University Press, the book is composed of three parts: the translator’s introduction, a nonfiction piece, “The Spark,” and a novella, “By Fire”. By Fire, the first fictional account published on the Arab Spring, reimagines the true-life self-immolation of Mohamed
During the 1960’s, protests were as common as clear skies. While many were done with violence and ended in bloodshed, the vast majority were peaceful and well-planned. The hippie and flower-power movement pressured politicians into ended the highly controversial Vietnam War. While it took years to end the war, many politicians have since spoke of the immense pressure the protests has on them. The pressure ensured that the concerns of the people were in mind when making decisions, and eventually led to the end of the conflict in 1974. Max Fisher, a journalist for the Washington Post, wrote an article (Peaceful protest is much more effective than violence for toppling dictators) on the success of peaceful protest. He cites the findings of a political scientist as proof of the success of peaceful disobedience. He claimed that all movements that 3.5% or more of populations sympathized or supported, were nonviolent; he wrote,”...every single (protest) campaign that exceeded that 3.5 percent point was a nonviolent one.” The finding compiled here also found that from years 1900-2006, 65% of peaceful protests were successful in deposing authoritarian
It was Malcolm X who said, “By any means necessary” when discussing the measures that needed to be enacted in order to bring change. However, determining which means are effective in bringing about change is crucial to the success of a movement. The evident reality is that peaceful acts of civil resistance have overall been much more successful than those that have been fueled by violence. A 2-year study conducted by political scientist, Erica Chenoweth, reveals just that. The study showed that: