Analysis of the Arab Spring

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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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CNN (2011). Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa -- country by country. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/02/21/mideast.africa.unrest/index.html
Gladwel, M. (2010). Small Change. The New Yorker.
Haxhi, T. (2012). Confrontation Politics: The Importance of Civil Disobedience Today. Retrieved from http://www.alterinter.org/spip.php?article3847
Khouri, R. (2011).The Arab Awakening. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/article/162973/arab-awakening
Maria E. & Chenoweth, T. (2012). Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict. Columbia University Press
Sahrp G. (1994).From Dictatorship to Democracy. The Albert Einstein Institution
Wolfsfeld, G., Segev, E., & Sheafer, T. (2013). Social Media and the Arab Spring: Politics Comes First. International Journal of Press/Politics, 18(2), 115-137

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