Arab Uprising

It was a revolutionary wave of demonstration and protests from 18th Dec 2010 at Tunisia because of
self - immolation Mohamed Bouazizi. Initially, it started in form of civil resistance in sustained
campaigns, then strikes took place followed by demonstrations, march and rallies. Furthermore,
social media was used to organiza, communicate and raise awareness. This culminated in Use of
Force (Libya and Syria).

Reasons fro this uprising

1. Political Dictatorship : Qadafi 41 years, Hosni Mubaruk 30 years, Zine Bin Abadine Al Ali 24 years.

2. Forms of Government : Monarchies/kings (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain), Autocrats/dictators

(Libya, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia), Benevolent Monarchies (UAE, Qatar, Kuwait)

3. Oil money Factor- an important role: (Unfair elections, imprisonment of political opponents, no
freedom of expression or criticism, corruption and accumulation of wealth by royal families)

4. Socio economic reasons : Awareness among youth, higher level of education, high inflation , high
food prices, uneven distribution of wealth, uncertainty about future

5. Role of international media: wiki leaks diplomatic cables, facebook, youtube, twitter

Results/ Impacts of this movement

1. Political : Constitutional reforms were introduced in many middle eastern countries, End of
monarchy in Libya and further future of monarchies in the region was quedtioned, the US - SAUDI
axis saved spread of uprising in other areas, free and fair elections

2. Economic (Internal in middle east ): GDP of countries fell down, risk of stagflation, tourism
industry suffered, retreat of investors from these countries, old based economy suffered

3. Economic (External) : Oil exports suffered, oil prices in international markets soared, future of oil
contracts was suspected, dependence on international assistance
Role and interests of US :

1. Strong military presence in the region for involvement in internal affairs

2. Strategic alliance with arab regimes to assert it's say as unilateral power

3. To secure Military and oil contracts

4. To contain extremist and terrorist Organization

5. Presence of Israel be acknowledged

What lessons do we learn from Arab uprising?

1 Centre of power lies with the people and Government needs to solve the issues at grass roots
level

2. Corruption and accumulation of wealth in few hands can lead to revolutions

3. Women and youth are very important segment of society and their participation in nation building
is very much eseential.