Arab Spring

Question 1

Arab Spring on the map

Answer 1

Spread from the Egypt expansionally

Question 2

Arab Spring: Beginning

Answer 2

• Uprisings since December 2010
• Fruit vendor Mohammad Bouazizi set himself on fire → trigger for other states
• Slowly expanding
• accelerator of demonstrations: social media (+multinational TV), youths can organise easily

Causes of uprisings:

• unsatisfaction with national politics
• poor economic policies → poor economic condition
• unemployment → frustration → no future
• absence of freedom of speech and express

Question 3

Arab Spring: Precursor

Answer 3

National self-determination since 19th century

• Arab identity, influence of European nationalism and of Western ideologies
• different manifestation of Arab nationalism: Pan-Arabism, Arab socialism (Baath party), particular nationalism (pan-syrianism)

First wave of Arabism around WW I:

• 3 issues in the interwar era: Lebanon, Israel-Palestine, Iraq
• Interwar era- low change for independence

Question 4

Second wave of Arabism

Answer 4

• After WW II, establishment of LAS
• Decolonisation x bipolar world
• Cold War in ME: USSR (Hussein, Arafat) vs. US (Tunisia, Jordan - king)
• Support of Islamists during the Cold War → West support (Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Syria, Afgh.); similarly Israel
• West concerned for the Arab Spring and new establishment in the ME

Question 5

Arab Spring: After the revolutions

Answer 5

• Arab Spring (2010-2011 or 2012) hold up the hope → as will produce democracy
• Some observers: as parallel to E Europe demonstrations in 1989
• Transition in democracy difficult → more often fails
• 8 yrs after uprisings: violence, instability and uncertainty mark the politics of ME
• Arab spring “success story”
• Transition has not been smooth → 2012 assassination of 2 politicians ¨Coalition of society groups won the Nobel Peace prize in 2015
• Did not allow extremism and polarization to undermine the goals
• 2014: adoption of new Constitution election of a new parliament, new president
• Politics remain uncertain
• terrorist attacks → undermining the government

Question 6

Yemen

Answer 6

• early 2012 pres. Ali Abdullah Sales step down (22 yrs of ruling)
• Political infighting, demonstrations, violence
• 2014 Houthis battle the central government and seized the capital Sana’s
• president Abd Rabun Mansur Hadi
• Intervention of KSA, UAE, and others to stop Iranian penetration into the Arabian peninsula through Houthis allies
• Humanitarian disaster
• Becoming a failed state

Question 7

Syria

Answer 7

3/2011: youth in Daraa spray painted → arrested and tortured

• Security forces fired on demonstrators
• Setting off a nation wide protest movement → civil war → proxy war
• Violence and chaos → rise of the ‘Islamic state’
• Assad regime controls the fraction of Syrian territory - assistance of Iran and Russia
• Syrian Kurdish forces (backed by US) rolled back IS in N
• Peace talks in Vienna, Geneva, Sochi
• Iran, Russia for Assad x Gulf states, US, Turkey against Assad

Question 8

Syria who controls what (2012ish):

Answer 8

Question 9

Egypt

Answer 9

Hosni Mubarak president (1981-2011)

• After his overthrow Egyptians have participated in 6 rounds of parliamentary elections, 3 presidential elections and 3 constitutional referendums, coup d’etat
  leader: Abdul Fatah Sisi (since 2013)
• After military ended the presidency of Mursi
• Insists that Egypt is on a path of democracy
• Muslim Brotherhood considered as terrorist organization

Question 10

Bahrain

Answer 10

2011 demonstrations in Manama

Sectarian dimension: Shia protests demanding change from Sunni that hold all the power in state

Bahrain security forces responded with heavy hand:

• Bahrain, UAE, KSA leaders saw Iran’s hand in demonstration
• ‘invitation’ of Bahraini leader of UAE and KSA military troops

Question 11

Libya

Answer 11

Muammar Gaddafi (1969-2011)

• Ruling system: through informal coalition and network of supporters under the guide what he called the direct democracy

8 months of civil war → include the establishment of NATO no-fly zone

• Gaddafi captured and killed

Summer 2012 elections → Libya has fractured → 2 different fractions claiming to be the legitimate government

→ result: civil war and chaos

Question 12

Middle East

Answer 12

• Most are autocratic
• in UAE Saudi Arabia and Oman demonstrations pulled back by the rulers

Question 13

The messy Mosaic of actor relations in ME

Answer 13

lack of support for Al-Qaeda and ISIL