The Arab Spring

The “Arab Spring” is a term commonly used in the Western media which refers to a series of events that started in late 2010 with the death of a street vendor. His death started a wave of anger against autocratic and corrupt governments that built into nationwide protests across the Middle East and North Africa particularly in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Syria. Several activities such as demonstrations, marches, and rallies, were part of the Arab spring. In addition, the protestors also used the social media to organize the protests against their repressive governments.

It was one specific event that actually started the cascade of events leading up to the Arab Spring. A 26 year old man, Mohamed Bouazizi nicknamed “Basboosa” was earning his income through a family operated vegetable cart in a small village of Tunisia. He was supporting a extended family of eight with a meager income of $140 a month. The local police who were corrupt regularly confiscated his cart demanding a bribe. On 17 December 2010, a policewoman confiscated his cart demanding a bribe and when he couldn’t pay they slapped him and destroyed his property. He then went to the concerned municipal government office to complain, but they refuse to even listen to him. Unable to bear the humiliation, Bouazizi set himself on fire and dies. This event caused outrage among the public and lead to protests and the subsequent ouster of Tunisia’s president Zine el Abidine ben Ali. A major goal of the people in the middle-east from Tunisia to Syria is to create fair and corruption free political systems, an economic system that is not biased, and judiciaries that function independently.

Among several countries in the middle-east, the four that were affec...

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...curity in the region. While the United States has given outright military support to the opposition in Libya, it has been withholding the same in Syria. Although the United States support to the Arab Spring is cautious and contradictory, it is clear that the United States is on the right side of history throughout the course of the Arab spring. One of the major factors that provided a positive impetus for the Arab Spring is the use of social media. Several studies have found that social media played a central role in political debates among the public. Conversations about revolution and news about what was going on in a cities and villages spread beyond borders. In some cases, it was actually the only way the public could communicate with each other and the rest of the world. Without the social media, it’s hard to imagine what would have happened to Arab spring.