‘The Arab Spring’ was a revolutionary wave of anti-government protests and demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa in early 2011 (Manfreda, 2018).
The movement is said to have begun on the 4th of January, 2011, when 27-year-old Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi self-immolated on the street in Ben Arous, after his vegetable stand had been seized by police because he did not have a permit (History.com, 2018).
The disturbing act was said to have been in protest to the police’s discrimination and corruption, which had deflated his general human rights (History.com, 2018). A video of Bouazizi was posted to Facebook, where it gained momentum as a social protest (History.com, 2018).
Protesting for democracy, economic freedom, employment, regime change, and an increase in their human rights, protestors took to the streets to rally through riots and civil wars (History.com, 2018). The prolonged protests stemmed from a deep resentment of Arab dictatorships, met with the brutality of the security apparatus, rising living prices, and the rising governmental corruption (Manfreda, 2018).
Though, a year after the protests had begun, there seemed to have been little change:
Source: (RT America, 2012)
Chronic political instability in these regions has prevented an instant improvement in the protested issues, though the reach of Facebook and social media networks extended the reach of their messages.
While ‘The Arab Spring’ protests and online posts did not immediately solve the region’s issues, it significantly impacted the relations between regional countries and has acted as a catalyst for long-term change (Jones, 2012, pg. 447) (Manfreda, 2018).
– Kate
References
History.com. (2018). Arab Spring – Facts & Summary – HISTORY.com. [online] Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/arab-spring [Accessed 13 Aug. 2018].
Jones, P. (2012). The Arab Spring. International Journal: Canada’s Journal of Global Policy Analysis, 67(2), pp.447-463.
Manfreda, P. (2018). Why Were the 2011 Middle East Uprisings Called the Arab Spring?. [online] ThoughtCo. Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-the-arab-spring-2353029 [Accessed 13 Aug. 2018].
YouTube. (2018). The Arab Spring one year later; What’s changed?. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cSnRMR5PmY [Accessed 13 Aug. 2018].
Source of Featured Image (Creative Commons Image):
Piaser, G. (2018). Protest Egypt. [online] Flickr. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/piaser/5456332869/in/photolist-9ja8ED-cXmzbC-8AmK5d-irybGz-28PFar9-k3gQv6-27daRKd-jiW1x2-dDtJSj-9aCJaa-dNQfv9-dKcVzv-9fk8mQ-b5eYwR-bome7P-fv1Q7a-dNg1nf-fALVPD-dRaSDU-G9Usv5-bgKcgM-dve3m3-dhdw8z-8zrVEP-8yUQer-28c3imD-9j93DX-aiwVKe-dkucc5-crymqw-e6qFFB-f2BDgR-fP8Wii-dLEPkM-9nMtP6-bywm9q-cctz4U-9hDx8E-qKHgSc-acf69R-mEYbMB-9hDjwo-acffnX-ekumKt-k711Ci-9jsmnt-aErsx3-dLfyhm-4EjNgb-ahZRdG [Accessed 13 Aug. 2018].
1501LHS New Communication Technologies 