Historic changes are happening in North Africa and Southwest Asia. The world is witnessing such a flowering of freedom and hope that the movement has been dubbed the “Arab Spring.” (This name for the widespread uprisings is a reference to the so-called Prague Spring, the nonviolent democratic revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1968 that failed to oust a Communist regime.) The upheaval began in December 2010, when people in Tunisia started protesting high food prices, lack of jobs, and political repression. Police fired on demonstrators, and several dozen Tunisians were killed. The mostly nonviolent protests escalated, until President Ben Ali fled the country in mid-January 2011. Later that month, Egyptian protesters filled the streets of Cairo calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, who had run their country for more than thirty years. On February 11, Mubarak resigned.
Protests erupted across the Arab world, especially in Algeria, Bahrain, Libya, Syria, and Yemen as people called for more civil rights, greater economic opportunity, and an end to authoritarian governments. Many protesters used the Internet and social media to organize events and spread news. Some used their cell phones to photograph and video the violent reprisals. Journalists often braved threats to their lives to cover the story.
Whether the Arab Spring will blossom further or shrivel, no one knows. Violent government backlashes against the protests continue in Syria, Yemen, and Libya. In Tunisia and Egypt, citizens are struggling to form new governments and debate the fate of former officials. The goals of the protesters are varied and may be difficult to attain. Some observers fear that radical Islamists could gain the upper hand. Others question whether women will have more freedom under the new governments. One thing is certain: the upheavals are remaking the Arab world.
Image credit: © Pedro Costas/AFP/Getty Images
- Middle East and North Africa in Turmoil
Explore an interactive map and time line to trace events country by country.
(Source: Washington Post; accessed August 1, 2011)
- Women and the Arab Spring
Learn about the participation of women in the protests and their role in possible future governments.
(Source: United States Institute of Peace, May 5, 2011)
- The New Geopolitics of Food
Examine the role of food prices in the protests.
(Source: Foreign Policy Magazine, May/June, 2011)
- Google Chairman Warns of Censorship after Arab Spring
Find out about the role that the Internet and social media have played in the “Arab Spring.”
(Source: BBC News, June 27, 2011)