Arab Spring

On December 18th in 2010, a revolution began, known as the Arab Spring. The revolution refers to the wave of demonstrations and protests that are occurring in the Arab world. There are many causes to this uprising, those mainly being economic issues, political issues, and the justice systems.

Mohamed Bouazizi was a Tunisian street vendor before he died in the hospital on January 4th after he lit himself on fire not even a month before that. The reason for this insane act? He felt he had been humiliated and harassed by an officer who confiscated his vegetable cart. This was the spark that ignited the flame. After his death, he rapidly became a symbol of the frustrations and sense of injustice and indignity that numerous other people felt in their countries.

Although Mohamed's actions were basically the catalyst for the revolt in Tunisia, they quickly spread across the country and other regions, especially Libya and Egypt. Rapidly growing young populations, rising prices, and unemployment burden the MENA (Middle East and North African) region. Abuse of state power through the channeling of public resources for private gain by ruling families and elites is another reason for the revolts in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia.

The demand for more political freedom is also a big issue among the MENA regions, 78% of their countries are not even considered "free". Voice and accountability indicators are very low in these countries, which are characterized by limited space for political parties, weak legislatures with little authority, elections lacking legitimacy, tightly controlled media environments, and restrictions on freedom of speech.

The Arab Spring still goes on today, as you may hear from the news. Rulers from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen have been overthrown, civil uprisings have begun in Bahrain and Syria, and major protests have occurred in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and Sudan.