Download What were the reasons for the Arab Spring in 2011? 1. Arab Youth

What were the reasons for the Arab Spring in 2011?
1. Arab Youth: Demographic Time Bomb
Arab regimes have been sitting on a demographic time bomb for decades. According to the UN
Development Program, the population in Arab countries more than doubled between 1975 and
2005 to 314 million. In Egypt, two-thirds of the population is under 30. Political and economic
development in most Arab states simply could not keep up with the staggering increase in the
population, as the ruling elites’ incompetence helped lay the seeds for their own demise.
2. Unemployment
The Arab world has a long history of struggle for political change, from leftist groups to Islamist
radicals. But the protests that started in 2011 could not have evolved into a mass phenomenon
had it not been for the widespread discontent over unemployment and low living standards.
The anger of university graduates forced to drive taxis to survive, and families struggling to
provide for their children transcended ideological divisions. Unemployment in many of the
countries involved in the Arab Spring hovered between 20-30% before the uprisings began. In
comparison the worst unemployment during the US’s great recession was about ½ of that of
the Arab nations.
3. Ageing Dictatorships
The economic situation could stabilize over time under a competent and credible government,
but by the end of the 20th century most Arab dictatorships were utterly bankrupt both
ideologically and morally. When the Arab Spring happened in 2011, Egyptian leader Hosni
Mubarak had been in power since 1980, Tunisia’s Ben Ali since 1987, while Muammar alQaddafi ruled over Libya for 42 years.
Most of the population was deeply cynical about the legitimacy of these ageing regimes,
although until 2011 most remained passive out of fear of the security services, and due to an
apparent lack of better alternatives or fear of an Islamist takeover).
4. Corruption
Economic hardships can be tolerated if the people believe there is a better future ahead, or feel
that the pain is at least somewhat equally distributed. Neither was the case in the Arab world,
where the state-led development gave place to crony capitalism that benefited only a small
minority. In Egypt, new business elites collaborated with the regime to amass fortunes
unimaginable to the majority of the population surviving on $2 a day. In Tunisia, no investment
deal was closed without a kick-back to the ruling family.
5. National Appeal of the Arab Spring
The key to the mass appeal of the Arab Spring was its universal message. It called on the Arabs
to take back their country away from the corrupt elites, a perfect mixture of patriotism and
social message. Instead of ideological slogans, the protesters wielded national flags, along with
the iconic rallying call that became the symbol of the uprising across the region: “The People
Want the Fall of the Regime!”. The Arab Spring united, for a brief time, both secularists and
Islamists, left wing groups and advocates of liberal economic reform, middle classes and the
poor.
6. Leaderless Revolt
Although backed in some countries by youth activist groups and unions, the protests were
initially largely spontaneous, not linked to a particular political party or an ideological current.
That made it difficult for the regime to decapitate the movement by simply arresting a few
troublemakers, a situation that the security forces were completely unprepared for.
7. Social Media
The first mass protest in Egypt was announced on Facebook by an anonymous group of
activists, who in a few days managed to attract tens of thousands of people. The social media
proved a powerful mobilization tool that helped the activists to outwit the police.
8. Rallying Call of the Mosque
The most iconic and best-attended protests took place on Fridays, when Muslim believers head
to the mosque for the weekly sermon and prayers. Although the protests were not religiously
inspired, the mosques became the perfect starting point for mass gatherings. The authorities
could cordon off the main squares and target universities, but they could not close down all
mosques.
9. Bungled State Response
The response of Arab dictators to the mass protests was predictably awful, going from dismissal
to panic, from police brutality to piecemeal reform that came too little too late. Attempts to put
down the protests through the use of force backfired spectacularly. In Libya and Syria it led to
civil war. Every funeral for the victim of state violence only deepened the anger and brought
more people to the street.
10. Contagion Effect
Within a month of the downfall of the Tunisian dictator in January 2011, the protests spread to
almost every Arab country, as people copied the tactics of the revolt, though with varying
intensity and success. Broadcast live on Arab satellite channels, the resignation in February
2011 of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, one of the most powerful Middle Eastern leaders, broke the
wall of fear and changed the region forever.