Politics Research Assignment: Causes of the Arab Spring
Please answer the following question in about 2000 words.
- What are the causes of the current uprisings and protests in the Middle East?
The essay will assess your ability to research the academic literature, and then present a coherent and compelling argument as a polished academic essay. The academic works i.e.: chapters in edited books or academic articles in recognised journals. Wikipedia, and similar web-based resources, are not acceptable sources for the essay (lectures too, should not be cited – locate the information in an academic source).
- please follow my suggested information for introduction and main points for the answer.
The below is suggested part of introduction I would like you to add it in your introduction. This part is copied from an academic artical, so you need to write it in you own words.
1. INTRODUCTION
On December 17, 2010 a policewoman confiscated Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi's unlicensed vegetable cart. She then allegedly slapped him, spit in his face, and insulted his deceased
father. Bouazizi tried to lodge a protest with local officials, but they refused to meet with him. In response, Bouazizi set himself on fire. Bouazizi's action exposed the Tunisian population's widespread discontent and frustration with the status quo. While he was in the hospital, anti-government
demonstrations sprung up throughout Tunisia. Bouazizi died on January 4 th2011. Ten days later Tunisian president, Ben Ali fled the country. Bouazizi's death and the subsequent Tunisian revolution sparked a wave of protests throughout
the Arab world. Within three years of Bouazizi's death, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen all experienced forced leadership changes. Protests, riots and demonstrations erupted in Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Djibouti, Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and Western Sahara. Syria is still embroiled in a horrific civil war.
Below are four main suggested points I want you to elaborate and put every one in paragraph. In each paragraph explain Support your answer with references, and examples. Don't forget it is an argument easy.
REASON #
1: INFLATION AND SHORTAGES
According to the dictionary, a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money is known as inflation. The effects on the economy are varied and can be both positive and negative at the same time. However, the negative effects clearly outweigh the positive ones.
2: AUTOCRACY
Autocracy comes from the Greek words: “autos” meaning “self” and “kratos” meaning “power.” In an autocratic system, one person or group holds all the power, without the participation, or sometimes even the consent, of the people. It is considered as the opposite of democracy.
An autocracy lacks political competition, transparency, freedom of expression, right to have a different opinion, human rights framework, and accountability of state institutions. The autocrat of a country will definitely claim, in theory, the existence of such rights and will ask the state institutions to observe them. However, in practice, there won't be any checks and balances or the precedent of such rights existing and laws observed by the state. Egypt under the reign of Hosni Mubarak could be termed as a classical autocratic state where any form of dissent was not tolerated.
3- UNEMPLOYMENT/UNDEREMPLOYMENT
4- the gap between the rich and the poor and subsequent social imbalances.
Yemen for example is the poorest country in the Middle East and suffers from this gap. The country's GDP per capita is just above $1200 per annum with half of the population living under the $1 poverty line. The people close to the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since the last 32 years, have grown mega rich while the majority of the country has witnessed a decline in their economic standing. As a result, the country tethers on the brink of collapse.
Theses are 2 references may help you in your work .
ROOTS&CAUSES OF THE 2011 ARAB UPRISINGS
Kamal Eldin Osman Salih
http://www(dot)pinxit(dot)com/page101/page115/downloads-23/files/Arab_Spring_Causes.pdf
Causes of the Arab Spring
Name
Institutional affiliation
Causes of the Arab Spring
On December 17, 2010, a policewoman in Tunisia confiscated an unlicensed cart belonging to Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi. When he tried to resist, she allegedly slapped him before spitting on his face and insulting him with his late father. When Bouazizi tried to launch a complaint with the local officials they refused to meet him. Due to frustrations he marched to the nearest government building and set himself on fire. His action stimulated discontent among Tunisians with the way the government was neglecting them. While he was still admitted in hospital protests sprung all over Tunisia with people asking the then president Ben Ali to step down. Bouazizi died on January 4th 2011. Ten days after his death the president Ben Ali fled the country. His death and the Tunisian revolution that ensued set a stage for the spread of the Arab spring with spread throughout the Arab world. Within three years of his death countries like countries like Libya, Egypt and Yemen has experienced the forceful removal of leadership. Protests, riots, and demonstrations became rampant in Arabian countries for example Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Djibouti, Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and Western Sahara. The demonstrations and riots have come to be recognized as the Arab spring. Syria is still embroiled in a horrific civil war. Some of the leaders in the Arab countries survived while others did not. For instance Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Colonel Gadhafi of Libya. Others, for instance, Bashar al-Assad are still clinging to power while in other countries the Arab spring had little or no effect. Long-standing authoritarian leaderships were forced to step down from power. Many people saw this as an opportunity for democracy in those countries, but the dream is seeming to be more challenging. There has been an ongoing debate on the causes of the Arab spring, but this paper will highlight some of the major causes. Critics argue that people were desperate for change, but other additional factors led to the protests and demonstrations.
Inflation and shortages
Inflation can be described the rise in the cost of living and more importantly the purchasing power. In any given economy inflation has its impact which can either be positive or negative. Inflation has a significant impact on both the purchasers and the investors in that they all loose purchasing power. Whether the money is in the bank or at home, it will be affected by inflation whereby it continues to lose value. The prices of basic commodities become too expensive for the civilians. This is what was happening in the northern African states and the Middle East. Daily basic commodities such as water and bread were becoming too expensive for the average individual. When people cannot afford the most basic commodities, they will lose faith in the government and the governmental institutions that are supposed to protect them hence revolt against them. Inflation also leads to a rise in the cost of living. When things become expensive people start raising the cost of services so that they can be able to afford the basic goods. This rise in the cost of living also angered the people as they wanted financial freedom free from constantly rising prices of goods and services (Herd, 2011).
Inflation also has an impact on the redistribution of wealth and income. This can be explained by looking at the wages that the people receive and their social class. For instance, the middle class and the lower class are the most affected by inflation and at the same time compose the majority of the population. The middle class and the lower class have salaries which if not fixed vary from time to time. The inflation affects them in that their salaries are not increasing while the prices of goods are rapidly rising. The majority of the people were tired of the ever rising process while they are not making sufficient incomes to support their families. The case of Bouazizi is a good example he was a fruit seller who was using the business to support his six siblings and his mother when the authorities confiscated his cart. He tried pleading with them only to be ignored, and due to frustrations, he decided to set himself on fire. This was a feeling that was widely shared by the majority as the prices of basic goods were constantly increasing, and the government was like supporting it because people could not be able to peacefully make a living without government influence. For instance in Egypt from 2007-2008 the prices of grain were rising at high speed and resulted in a 39% increase in the food prices. This led to people becoming more dependent on the subsidized bread that the government provided. After a while, the government stopped providing the bread as it claimed it had been hit by the rising international prices of goods. This led to people lacking food as they could not afford what was in the shops while at the same time could not access the subsidized bread from the government and this contributed to the revolution.
Autocracy
The word autocracy is derived from the Greek word ‘autos’ which means self and ‘Kratos’ which stands for power. In the autocratic system one individual or at times a group of people hold the maximum power and at times without the consent of the people. Many have argued that it is the opposite of democracy. An autocratic state lacks competition of political parties, freedom of expression, a framework for human rights, right for the masses to have a different opinion, accountability of state expressions and transparency. The leader or the group of individuals with the most power will claim that these things exists but only in theory. Practically the people are oppressed and only function mi favor of the government. The people in power get high r...