This post is due by Tuesday, January 14 @ midnight for full credit.
Email late posts to rwilliamsATchamplain.edu for partial credit.
Read the assigned chapters above, and then:
1. Provide 3 SPECIFIC observations about the Arab Spring you learned from EACH chapter of our book, using 2-3 sentences combining the book and your own IYOW analysis.
2. Finally, ask ONE specific question you have of the Arab Spring after completing our reading.
Read the assigned chapters above, and then:
1. Provide 3 SPECIFIC observations about the Arab Spring you learned from EACH chapter of our book, using 2-3 sentences combining the book and your own IYOW analysis.
2. Finally, ask ONE specific question you have of the Arab Spring after completing our reading.
Megan Spiezio-Davis
ReplyDeleteArab Uprisings chpts. 1-3
Choosing three areas of exploration is tough. The chapters were written in a way that you could easily understand the happenings discussed, however there were many topics and history sprinkled into the text.
In chapter 1, I found the topic of educated youth and unemployment rates to be very interesting. (pg. 19) The book describes a “youth bulge.” As a consequence there are many young people that are delaying marriage as well. I was drawn to an image in my mind of a young woman pushing her boundaries to go to college then to find no job afterwards, possibly to settle on marriage instead. I would imagine that the strife felt to stay in college and to continue to pay for that education to no avail would lead anyone to a sort of uprising.
In chapter 2, I found it interesting to learn that the demography of Tunisia is urban and quite wealthy, 80% of the population is “middle class”. (pg. 34) This offers itself to a state of less oppression and people wanting more for themselves and certainly more for their kids, similar to the American dream. Often times these desires are enough to push us to our limits, especially if one feels their child’s future is in jeopardy.
Chapter 3 lends itself strongly towards corruption and brutality. Though there were stories before in Egypt and Tunisia of terrible violence, it seems that the corruption of Libya and Yemen are simply disgusting. The tribal culture and the divides that it brings within a working political state are ridiculous. It is also interesting to note the connection between tribes, corruption and Al Quada. Where Al Quada has ties in Yemen because the tribal leaders are willing to take bribes. (pg. 89)
A question that I have is how neoliberalism has played such a role in the Arab Uprisings. I would like to discuss how one theory of government could cause the variables for an uprising. It seems as though there was an environment of chaos before neoliberalism came to the picture. I can appreciate the argument that neoliberalism enabled a divide in classes. But, wasn’t there a pretty significant one already?
Micaela Jawor
ReplyDeleteArab Uprisings chapters 1-3
In chapter 1, I found that we could pinpoint the factors that caused the uprisings interesting. On pages 24-25 the book states that “unilateral attempts by regimes to renegotiate ruling bargains, demographic challenges, a food crisis, and brittleness made autocracies in the Arab world vulnerable, but they did not cause the uprisings. To attribute the uprisings to these factors or to any others overlooks a key variable – the human element – that determines whether an uprising will or will not occur. It also makes it seem that once a set of conditions is met, people will automatically respond in determined ways.” This made me consider that human nature could in the right conditions be evaluated, studied, and also used to put a stop to said uprisings.
In chapter 2 on page 40, I found it interesting that “corruption was widespread in Tunisia and Egypt because bribery was effectively written into the economic system.” Since the police could be bought it made me think that only those with money could get away with anything, therefore causing civil unrest.
In chapter 3 page 67, I found it interesting that “in both Yemen and Libya, corrupt, aging despots who stifled civic and economic life lorded it over states they treated as their personal fiefdoms is what Yemen and Libya had in common as political systems before the uprisings.” A lot of times in books it seems that it is the closed minded old geezers that cause problems the younger generations have to deal with and/or change.
A question I have now of Arab Spring is what is there about the Arab Spring that could surprise the people that are studying the responses of the people as opposed to what they would have expected to have happened?
Part One
ReplyDeleteChapter 1: A Revolutionary Wave?
- I don't understand why so many countries have had a "state of emergency" in place for so long. "Syrians had been living under a state of emergency since 1963, Egyptians since 1981, Algerians since 1992, Iraqis since 2004, Palestinians since 2007, and Sudanese since 2008 (2005 in the Darfur region of Sudan).
- In a state of emergency rights are taken away from citizens of their "fundamental rights" some examples that I read were "habeas corpus" and "right to assemble" others were technically still set and active, but most of these guarantees were "empty promises". Why did these last for so long and are they currently still under a state of emergency?
- I found talks about the term "waithood" very interesting. Mostly because what they describe in the book has been my mindset for most of the time while studying here at college. "The lack of employment opportunities for young people in the Arab world has given rise to a phenomenon one political scientist calls "waithood", a period in which youths "wait for (good) jobs, wait for marriage and intimacy, and wait for full participation in their societies."
Chapter 2: The Beginning: Tunisia and Egypt
- "Yet ranks of private jets clutter Cairo's airport. The flower arrangements at a recent posh wedding, where whisky flowed and the gowns fluttered in from Paris and Milan, were reputed to have cost $60,000 in a country where the average wage is less than $100 a month." Very descriptive and gives me a lot of illustration to the contrast, it's angering.
- Tunisia has gone through so much turmoil with its leaders, from when they became a republic and Habib Bourguiba was the first official president. "he decided to do away with the facade of elections entirely. Thus in 1974, he had the National Assembly amend the constitution to make him president for life." Then Prime Minister Ben Ali essentially over threw him and became president of Tunisia. He then "dashed those hopes by backing a phony referendum in which Tunisans repealed the amendments, making him eligible for more terms." I'm really starting to understand why there is so much frustration, but I must ask the question as to why there high ranking rulers decide to do this? What is the cause/causes? What drives this apparent mentality?
- National Democratic Party (NDP) & Neo-Destour Party "Each was more like a club whose board was composed of political and economic elites who divided political and economic spoils among themselves." This is just supporting my understanding to why there is so much frustration, taking down one person and then appointing someone else doesn't really lead these people anywhere (or at least it seems rare when actual progress comes about from it).
Chapter 3: Uprisings in Weak States: Yemen and Libya
- "The common view of tribes in the Arab world is that they are exotic and archaic institutions. They are not ..." Just something that in part the western world has instilled into our culture view of these people. From what I know from experience alone it is mostly done through the media (news, movies, shows, magazines etc.).
- "Although it is important to acknowledge the role tribes and tribal affiliation have played in Yemen and Libya, it is important not to overstate that role. Tribal leaders do not speak for the entirety of their tribe, and tribal members retain multiple other identities, which often take precedence over their tribal identities." This is just something that really rings true to the western mindset of things that we really don't understand at all. An understanding that not everyone is involved in this and that we cannot group everyone into the same problem, that is not how this works nor how it should work.
Part Two
ReplyDeleteFrom the reading it seems that "Arab Spring" has been contextualized has an overall good thing and there is events etc. citing that good is coming from this that something more is emerging in the Middle East. If this is true then why does everyone hear and talk about the more negative content? Is it because that is how our societies operates and this is apart of the norm in our culture? Is it because media gets better hits etc. from reporting the more violent concepts rather then women marching in Kuwait for their right to vote? The positive that is happening in these regions should be more exciting to us but I never hear about it sadly. So that is why I'm asking, why this is.
Steven Chandler
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 1 The topic that interested me was titled “Why do Arabs identify with one another” (pg. 2) It talks mainly about the sharing of culture, and what entitles someone to be an arab, and also that other countries on the borders of the middle east like Egypt, also share arab cultures without necessarily wanting to renounce their own citizenship. Something i learned from this chapter is that outside opposition/dissaproval of other regionspeople (Americans) can ultimately help unite many inhabitants of the region. I would feel like the comradery of coming together to unite against the opposition could be benificial within the culture, my only question is, will that hatred/opposition help progress culture?
Chapter 2
While reading chapter 2, the subtitle that cught me was “How did the regimes in Tunisia and Egypt attempt to control their populations” (pg. 39) Heres a few things i learned bout security in these regions. Lets start with “Security Apparatus” this term describes formal and informal groups with ill defined jurisdictions trying to secure these places. Generally these “security forces” were made up of drug runners,criminals,gang members, former prisoners, slum dwellers and more, also referred to as “The baltagiya”. Imagine living in a place where you have an illegitimate security force keeping you “Safe”. Q.: How safe do the people actually feel?
Chapter3
Chose to focus on how the uprisings are effecting yemen and Libya, There is no unified military so true revolutionary action will ensue. I could only imagine being a citizen of one of these places and having to worry about being overthrown. How long will it take?
Chapter one
ReplyDelete- Immediately I read that the contrasting sets of rituals, traditions, and beliefs between different sects of the Arab world are irrelevant and did not play any role in the upraising. For example differences between Shin’is and Sunnis did not have an effect on the upraising. This surprised me; I often hear about different religious groups in the media and assumed they were playing a big role in the area.
- I found it interesting on page 7 the book pointed out two reasons Arab states lean towards authoritarian governments. The reasons include control over resources (OIL) and second American foreign policy. It’s surprising that American foreign policy can have such an effect on an entire region of 22 countries.
- 60% of the population of the Arab world is under the age of thirty. I first heard this statistic on the first day of class and didn’t think much of it. After reading the segment on the population of the Arab world the statistic started to seem more important. I found it interesting that out of this large population of young people in some countries unemployment rates were more than 40%. I can’t help but think that if I was living in a country with such bad unemployment I would want change too.
Chapter two
- Corruption ran rampant both in Tunisia and Egypt leading up to the upraising. This leaves many questions such as did the corruption affect American forging policy in the region? And in the future how will these countries fight corruption? Or will they fight corruption at all?
- The moves the Tunisia government made during the early days of the upraising sealed the fate of the country. Government oppression began when the government shut down internet access to the area and peaked when government snipers killed 21 people during a protest. As the upraising spread the early days of each countries upraising were very important to the outcome of the upraising.
- The 2011 protest in Egypt were much different than protest in the past. In the past protesters often protested for economic change, in 2011 all groups came together to protest the government and demanded change at the very top.
Chapter three
- Local tribes in both Yemen and Libya played a role in their upraising. It was interesting that since the institutions in these countries were so week, local tribes stepped up where the institutions could not.
- The protesters agenda in Yemen was very different from Egypt’s and other countries. Yemen’s protesters stuck to social media where other countries took to the streets.
- Social played a major role in Libya as the initial “day of rage” was planned through social media and sparked the revolution. It still amazes me how much of an impact social media had on all types of situations in the Arab world.
Part two
Why didn’t outside powers even think about intervening in Yemen? If al-qaeda is active in the country and there is political unrest this seems like an opportunity to intervene and help build their government while also going after al-qaeda as well.
(Chapter 1)
ReplyDeleteSo in chapter one, what I personally found interesting when it talked about how Arabs identify with one another? For example, one of the interesting aspects of the Arab Uprisings were how the Egyptians caught the attentions of the other Arab nations and the fact they they have so much in common with one another in terms of religion, culture, traditions, and language is the reason why they have increased the likelihood of the inhabitants of the region would identify with a broader Arab community. Furthermore, what's more interesting to see that their is a sense of shared history and experiences that school systems and intellectuals encourage. There is poetry, (Egyptians) soap operas, and movies that Arabs throughout the region and world share with one another. It is not only the language or religion that the Arabs might share with each other but is also entertainment as well that connects Arabs with one another.
(Chapter 2)
In chapter two what caught might attention is in the beginning of the chapter the comparasion of the two Aarb nations that were made. Tunisia vs. Egypt. I find it interesting to see, that although Egypt is the most Arab's populous country with an estimated population of 81 to 100 million compared to Tunisia with an estimated population of 10.5 million. Though, Egypt might be six times larger than Tunisia, but on the other Tunisia is a much more wealthier nation compared to Egypt. According to World Bank, Tunisia's has more than 80 percent middle while Egypt's is about 40 percent which live on less than a two dollars a day. This comparison between the two nations was something interesting to see which I didn't know before.
(Chapter 3)
And last but not the least, In this what I found to be interesting was the story about the al-Qaeda and why they are staying in Yemen. Although, when most of the time people hear about al-Qaeda they always think that they live in Afghanistan or Pakistan, but the reality of it is that most of them live in Yemen and other parts of the Arab regions. For instance, before the 9/11 attacks they used to live in Saudi and few lived in Yemen but when the attacks took place the Saudi governement did not want the al-Qaeda's to live in Saudi they were forced to leave and they left to Yemen and now this is where the majority of al-Qaeda members and leaders live. In fact, as the story even mentions Yemen is the ancestral home of the bin Laden family. Furthermore, since 2009 their memebers have also increased because of the fact that they joined the Yemeni al-Qaeda group, and since then also they have found a franchise too. This is something interesting I come to know now about after reading this chapter that I didn't know before.
(Question)
Does the United States have any strategy for dealing with the Islamist government without using any force?
Sid Miller
ReplyDeleteArab Uprisings Chapters 1-3
Chapter 1: A Revolutionary Wave?
- What I observed specifically in chapter 1 was that the dynamics of the arab countries is similar regarding population in particular ways to North America through the different religions, ethnicities, and languages that dominate different areas (Pg.1-5). Yet the region is extremely different in many ways; uprisings occur for many different reasons than one would ever see in the West. Specifically I observed the food uprising on pages 21-23; it is a radical thought to understand that an uprising can be caused over food. Yet the Arab Springs has a number of countries that are most vulnerable to have a food uprising. While the U.S on average spends about 7% of its income on food, while Lebanon's average is 34% and Morocco's is 64%. The high price of food is a result of the limited amounts of agricultural land areas along with the numerous amounts of drought and the neoliberal economic policies.
Chapter 2: The Beginning: Tunisia and Egypt
- The main observation that I learned in this chapter was the many differences of Egypt and Tunisia with regards to size and population,as well as the large amount of similarities including the large percentage of Sunni Arabs in both countries and the homogenous change to neoliberal economies. WIthin both countries came a large gap between rich and poor which inevitably created tension, which resulted in a series of uprisings (Pg. 35). This resulted in a delegitimization of the governments, as the other says; there were no more parties, more so club like organizations. This ended up in the formation of security regimes in an attempt to control the population. Thus resulting in a large amount of corruption.
Chapter 3: Uprisings in the Weak States: Yemen and Libya
-The observation specifically observed in chapter 3 was: Why were Yemen and Libya considered 'weak states'? "According to political sciences, normal states exhibit three characteristics: a territory, a functioning government and a bureaucracy that rules over the entirety of the territory, and a national identity. Weak states lack at least the second of those characteristics, and commonly the third (Pg.73-74)". Other characteristics include the difficult geography to control, the history of civil conflict, irrational choices made by the leaders, and oil (Pg.74-75). After understanding the vulnerability of these 'weak states', it is apparent as to why Yemen and Lybia are and have been more susceptible.
My questions is does age have to do with something with the turmoil in the arab springs? While the U.S is only 200 years old, we have already abolished our civil conflicts and other issues in the country, is this because we are a new country with a democracy or is it because the arab springs are such old countries that have much history, as well has hold a strong sense of religion incorporated to the governments?
Chapter 1
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that the Gulf states and Libya outright banned political parties. I also was surprised that some of the Arab states get 90% of their income from oil. I knew it was high, but 90% is a lot. I also did not know that 60% of the regions exports are to Europe.
Chapter 2
I did not know that since Tunisia's and Egypt's independence they only had two and three presidents respectively. I thought it was super interesting that when Leila Trabelsi fled the country she had $56 million in gold bullion on her plane. It was also interesting that more than a dozen Egyptians copied Bouazizi, when that type of protest is rarely seen in that region.
Chapter 3
I did not know that Yemen's and Libya's leaders were two of the three longest in power. It is still hard to wrap my head around having the same leader for longer than I've been alive. I did not know that Yemen was the poorest state in the Arab world. I found it interesting that Yemen requires remittances; and has received $10 billion between 2000 and 2007 from it.
My Question:
Do the people of Tunisia and Egypt consider their uprisings a success?
Ch. 1
ReplyDelete-When reading this chapter the first point I found helpful was the distinction made between Sunni and Shi'is. While we often hear of these two branches of Islam, they are rarely defined. I personally did not know the exact differences and found this very helpful.
-Another point I found interesting and agreed with was when the author spoke to the Arab worlds history of authoritarian governments. I was glad to read that he downplays the idea of Islam preventing democracy, as well as the idea that the role of a dominant male in the Arabic family is a factor. The author points to the idea that perhaps it has to do with control of Arabic state resources as well as foreign influence, mainly the United States.
-Lastly I found the differences between an Arab uprising and western uprising interesting. Often when we think about a population calling for change it has to do with the government, however in the Arab world, due to the lack of popular political figures they are protesting the system and order.
Ch. 2
-In the second chapter the first point that stood out to me was how prevalent the autocracies in Egypt and Tunisia really were. For the countries to have only known two(Tunisia) and three(Egypt) presidents since there independence is shocking.
-To follow up on this power of these autocracies, it is no surprise that the corruption of these countries was as prevalent as it was. In Tunisia nearly everyone in the business community had a tie to the presidential family and the Egyptian president is said to have accumulated 2-3 billion dollars.
-Lastly I found the roles that the military played in each countries uprising interesting, mostly because each country was almost the complete opposite of each other. In Tunisia the military was almost a separate entity from the government making it easier for them to essentially step down and let the protesters take over. Egypt had a strong military which performed a coute d'etat.
Ch. 3
-In chapter 3 I thought one very important fact to note was that the role of tribes portrayed by Western media was false. This is important because it highlights the effect western media has on global perception. In fact the other points out that the only reason tribes were asked to perform some functions was because of how weak the other institutions in the country were(ie. the government).
-Secondly I found the rebel group in Libya to be very interesting. While they all had a common goal of liberating themselves from Qaddafi, there ideals were not necessarily the same. They had a very diverse background from lawyers to Islamists.
-Lastly I found the R2P doctrine interesting. While reading this I could not help but think it really doesn't mean anything, and international intervention will only occur when a foreign country has interest in the country and not for the well being of the civilian population.
My Question:
Does the class think the R2P doctrine could or will prove to be effective at some point, or will foreign intervention only occur when an outside power has an interest in a certain country?
Chapter 1
ReplyDelete-I was shocked when i read that Syrians have been living under a state of emergency since 1963. In some Arab states 90%of their income comes from oil. I also found it extremely shocking that the Arab world is growing at such a rapid rate with nearly 60% of the population under the age of 30.
Chapter 2
In the Tunisian population more than 80% of them are considered to be middle class citizens so Tunisia is a relatively wealthy country. Even today 44% of Egyptians are considered to be poor or extremely poor. Leila Trabelsi fled the country with $56 million in gold bullion stashed on her plane.
Chapter 3
Ali Abdullah Saleh and Muammar al-Qaddafi were 2 of the 3 longest leaders remain in power in the Arab world. Yemen retains the status of being the poorest state in the Arab World. There were local tribes that played roles in the uprising of Yemen and Lybia.
Question
Does the United States have a future role in all of the issues going on in the Arab World? What can they do?
Lindsey Knebel
ReplyDeleteChapter 1: I think from this chapter one of the bold headlines is what shocked me the most, it really stuck out to me it says: Why do Arabs identify with one another? My response to this was why wouldn't they? Once I read this I was shocked because it didn't make much sense to me. It's like asking why do whites identify with one another, why do blacks, or Latinos? For one thing they have something in common other wise they wouldn't be under the category as an "Arab". It talks about how they share a language and a history, which to me makes sense as to why they would identify together (common sense).
Chapter 2
I didn't realize how much media played a roll in the uprisings. After reading the section in this chapter on pages 50-52 I understand the effect that social media has on our world. In the very beginning of his chapter it shares he outbreak of the Tunisian uprising was called by Western media the twitter or Facebook revolution because of how much protesters were using media. To me it was interesting to find out that between 2008 and 2010 facebook memberships increased in the middle east 360 percent to 3. million. However according to the text some would argue that not all of this cyber use was for politics or the uprisings. According to the Human Development Report of 2010 60 % of youths on the internet spent their time chatting, 20% looked at pornography, 12% conducted business or research, and only 8% visited political sites. Its strange that these rates for political sites are so low considering the use of the media during the uprisings.
Chapter 3
I didn't know that al-Qaeda was in Yemen and I thought it was really interesting that, they would be located there. To me it would make more sense to be in Saudi Arabia but when i kept reading i figured out why that was not possible. On pages 89-90 i learned that because of 9/11 al-Qaeda was forced out of there and over the border into Yemen, as well as it is the ancestral home of the bin Laden family. However it doesn't explain the presence of their current presence there. Of course, like i figured, they are stationed in Yemen because they have a strategic outcome. Because of Yemens weak central government and rough terrain, it provides an ideal location for he group.
My question would be: Are there any plans to get al-qaeda out of Yemen?
Chapter 1-
ReplyDeleteThe first point that really stood out to me was the number of Arab nations that have been in a state of emergency, and for how long they have been in that state. Particularly considering the extra powers that governments can claim in a state of emergency. Also, I admit I was bothered when I read the statistic stating that around 91% or the population of the Arab world live in circumstances below the average for human welfare.
Chapter 2-
The fact that both Mubarak and Ben Ali raised they own private armies and amassed vast networks of security was deeply unsettling for me, considering the recent trend of government mistrust here in the US. And on that same note of injustice, the story of Khaled Said and his murder by crooked cops, after Said exposed the corruption of the police, left a bad taste in my mouth. It's not difficult to find instances of the same behavior in other places as well.
Chapter 3-
I was very surprised to read about the level of violence that was reached in Yemen during the protests against Saleh. Snipers taking pot shots at people and grenades in crowds of civilians, repulsive. On the other hand, Libya's uprising was one that I followed on the news for some time. However, I had not realized that Qaddafi was such a lunatic, considering his administration's involvement in the downing of Pacific Am flight 103.
Question: Do states like Libya and Yemen have an opportunity for more stable governments now that their respective despots have been deposed? Or are their too many groups vying for control for there to be stability?
Chapter 1
ReplyDelete- When hearing about the Arab Spring and countries rebelling against regime, it seemed like all countries were working together. It was interesting to find that countries in the Arab world are not really looking for pan-Arab world rather individual citizenship for their respective countries. Another idea that stuck out to me was that vulnerabilities were created but were not necessarily the cause for the Uprisings. I later found that the lack of government compartmentalization was really what lead the people to distrust government and lead to the movement of the people to the streets.
Chapter 2
In this Chapter the connections between the countries intrigued me. I first found that in the uprising, the weakness of the government in Tunisia and Egypt allowed for the leaders of the countries to create their own private armies. These private armies acted as Henchmen, doing everything that the armies of the countries would not do. When it came to the people of the countries in relation to the uprisings more commonalities showed up. Some of the areas they had in common included no real leadership, rapid spread, non religious and non violent orientation. Not only were the ways in which the uprising began similar but they also shared the demands made. When thinking of Islamic extremist I first believed that the brotherhood was part of the violence occurring then realized that Egypt's Muslim Brother had renounced their violence and in addition were behind the the second round of pro tests.
Chapter 3
In chapter 3 Yemen drew most of my attention being as Al-Qaeda has found a home on its soil after being driven from Saudi Arabia. Yemen became perfect territory due to the country having such a brittle government , making it a strategic move in the Al-Qaeda agenda. another fact about Yemen is that its previous leader Ali Ahmed came from a father who had been elected multiple times prior to resigning. Also speaking of leaders learning about Mummar Qaddafi's eccentric lifestyle also interested me. He seemed what would be considered a celebrity in America. The fact that he had a group of Amazons as his protection also seem somewhat odd.
My question is whether our agreement with Yemen and drones has anything to do with Al-Qaeda's presence?
1) One thing i encountered in chapter 1 was the fact that many arab states are in a state of emergency, and have been for some time, even decades. This allows the executive powers and the military much more authority than they would need in peacetime. This could be one of many reasons for the systematic loss of rights in these Arab states, and also a reason for an uprising.
ReplyDeleteI also read that many Arab nations rely on "renting" nations, meaning that their primary revenue source is not taxes. I imagine most revenue in these states is from the international sale of oil. This makes for an unstable economy, as the revenue is never guaranteed or predictable like it is with taxes.
Another fact in chapter 1 is the considerable food crisis in the Middle East. In Arab countries, between 63 and 34 percent of the household budget is spent on food. Compared to the 7 percent in the united states, this is a huge amount. There are several reasons, but the biggest is the explosive increase in population in the Middle East. This has led to riots and has
made the region more susceptible to uprisings like the Arab Spring.
2) One important point I saw in chapter 2 was the use of social media and it's effect on the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. There were many similarities between the 2 uprisings, and it was because of the use of social media allowed Egyptians to see what was happening in Tunisia real-time. This allowed them to try these same tactics in their own country, and it worked.
Another fact I learned is the role of Khaled Said on the uprising in Egypt. in 2010 a man was beaten to death by plainclothes police after he posted an incriminating video of police online. The facebook page in his honor grew to more then 400,000 people during the uprising, and gave birth the the motto "We are all Khaled Said." It can be argued that this was a spark that ignited Egypt's uprising.
Interestingly, the military of both Egypt and Tunisia did not use overwhelming force to crush the protests. In the case of Egypt, the president ordered that the military will not fire on the protesters, which caused the military to stage a coup, deposing Mubarak. I think this is very fortunate, because when the military tries to intervene like they did in Syria, there could be a very different outcome.
3) The first fact I learned in Chapter 3 is that both Yemen and Libya were considered "weak states" because they had a non functional govt or lack of control on their people. This makes it much easier for a revolution to occur, and it makes sense that it did.
I also learned that there were tribal influences on the uprisings in Yemen. I did not realize that tribes still existed in the modernized parts of the world. It is said that the tribes were able to unite many of their people to a common cause during the uprisings.
Another fact in chapter 3 was the involvement of the US in Yemen. According to the book, and other material I've read, Yemen's government has taken credit for airstrikes and other attacks performed by the US military or the cia. This could be a ploy to make people think the government is strong, or it could be a way of making sure they dont get looked down on after people find out about the truth.
Question: Does the history and tradition of different states have an impact on how it will "behave" during an uprising?
In Chapter 1, a topic that I took interest in was the dependency on rent in Arab world. With the state having control over the rent, they do not have to directly reach out to it’s citizens for revenue like the united states does with taxes. Also, with rent control, the state is the main economic actor. What caught my attention was the fact that in the wake of the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, states in the Arab world attempted to bribe their populations with various social and economic offerings in order to buy peace. Offerings included social benefits, pay raises, and higher government assistance with basic commodities.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I found interesting in chapter 1 was that 60% of the population of the Arab world in under the age of 30.
In Chapter 2, what I found interesting was that there is a new class in Egypt known as the “fat cats” or the “whales of the Nile” which stemmed from the recent economic liberalizations. This is a small group of extremely wealthy businessmen who avoid contact with those who live in the slums of Cairo, by living in gated communities on the desert’s edge. These slums contain some 2.6 million people who are so destitute that their entire income cannot cover basic food needs.
In Chapter 3, a key point that interested me was in the explanation of the factors that lead to the weakness in Yemen and Libya. The factor that was the most interesting is Oil, and that before the uprising, Libya acquired 95% of it’s revenues from oil. Salif al-Quaddafi disbursed this oil directly to loyal clients.
What other countries could be suspect to a uprising based on the qualities they share with countries that have already experienced the Arab Spring?
Cam Willis
ReplyDeletechapter 1-3
Chapter 1
In chapter one I was surprised to hear how the uprise came to be. Although it makes sense, I was surprised that it all began with a street vendor who was humiliated by a police man who wanted to make a statement when the government would not help him. It seems like the government was not doing what it had promised the Arab world which caused a rebelling. The people where demanding democracy and human rights.
Chapter 2
With the focus being on Tunisia and Egypt I was surprised to find out how all the issues with in the government came to be. I did not expect it to be government officials becoming corrupt due to a power trip. I was surprised to hear that the government leaders os Egypt and Tunisia where able to contract, and hire their own security forces that took care of the things that government officials could not.It allowed the officials, businessmen and NDP to have unregulated power which put the Egyptian and Tunisian people at risk as well as taking away their rights. The corruption came from the amount of poverty through out the countries. The government officials, businessman and NDP offered better conditions to those who where willing to commit the crimes that nobody was stopping them from doing.
Chapter 3
I was surprised by the unsteadiness of Yemen and Libya. I thought because of the the access to water that both countries would have pretty civil living conditions but it they are both places of war. The harsh terrain makes it hard to get around and it allows tribes, good and bad to form. The lack of government and money, as well as civil war make them both a common place for corruption and crime.
In the end it seems that the main issue is money, the governments are corrupt because of the lack of money. So will there ever be a chance for these countries to make money once the peace is settle? what about the countries with out money? Countries like Egypt can't make all their profits off of renting land can they?
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ReplyDeleteChapter One
ReplyDeleteDiscussing the lag between most Arab states and a western way of participatory governance, helped put a scope in perspective. A lot of this information I had just assumed I knew, but this is really letting me explore between the lines. It also seems as if Jordan is the at the top of totem pole, much like what we talked about it class, when it came to civil liberties, political rights, and media independence, they ranked far above the international mean. And when it came to public perceptions of corruption, ten out of the seventeen Arab states surveyed above an international mean. This first chapter was just breaking in the lining of my shoes, dishing out some nice statistics, and info and with minimal perspectives.
Chapter Two
He describes the level of corruption in Tunisia and Egypt reaching a height of mythic proportions. Salaries were low, and bribery was effectively written into their entire system. Through-out the uprisings this was at the peak of everybody's interest. It’s interesting but yet no surprise to see that a majority of these countries triggers dated back decades, cemented in layers of corruption. Privatization of government-owned assets allowed sleaziness to develop, and basically outweigh the two way street in which government should be practiced. It’s easy for the powerful drown in their own greed.
Chapter Three
Seems to have a primary focus on Yemen and Libya. In which both countries, previous to the uprisings, were two of the three longest-ruling heads of state, in the arab world. It’s clear to see why the US stepped into Lybia, along with its NATO uprisings. There was over fifty protesters killed by security forces the day before, and not one other world leader made it clear that they wanted to intervene. We have also viewed Yemen as a vital partner in the battle on the war on terror for some time now. The United States also spent more than $150 million dollars on training and equipping the Yemen armed forces, after Alqadea attacked the U.S.S Cole, while it was in Aden’s armer. Still the most US drone strikes in the world occur here.
My question would be....... Which Arab country holds the brightest future, in relation to a minimization in corruption, and an increase in socioeconomic and political development.
Chapter 1 - I was surprised to read that not one Arab state provided a high standard of human welfare, on a political and social life scale. Only 8.9% percent of the population surveyed is offered a medium standard of human welfare. I expected at least a small percentage to have a high standard. Learning that in Egypt, almost 60% of youths are out of the labor force and that young people with a college degree rank highest among the unemployed is so crazy and odd to hear. I also thought it was interesting learning where the phrase Arab Spring came from and what the term spring actually implies. Knowing that spring implies a positive outcome for the uprisings, although it has yet to be achieved. Also that only one of the uprisings (in Syria) actually broke out in that season.
ReplyDeleteChapter 2 - Reading about the corruption in Tunisia and Egypt I learned that bribery was effectively written into the economic system but during the uprisings corruption took an all time high. Those who had connections with people of the ruling party or the presidents family were most successful. Over the course of his presidency, Mubarak had accumulated 2-3 billion dollars which nobody has a clue where it came from. Learning of Khaled Said and his murder by two cops in Egypt and how much of a stir it created with Facebook, having more than 473,000 users join the page, really demonstrated how many protestors care and will stand up for themselves and others.
Chapter 3 - Yemen and Libya being the poster examples of weak states due to their geography, history, choices made by their leaders. Oil is what enabled Yemen and Libya to survive as weak states.I also was very interested in how the uprisings in Libya began. An umbrella group issued a call on social media for Libyans o participate in their own Day of Rage to protest. Protestors clashed with security forces and chaos broke out into the town of Tripoli, where government buildings were set on fire. These violent uprisings were blamed on Yemen and Libya's "tribal character" and that Yemen has the most heavily armed population in the Arab world.
My questions would be, although the uprisings did not bring any positive outcome, there had to be some good out of it all and not just negative outcomes. What are some of the positives that came about from the uprisings?
Shukran, Arab Spring'ers, for your excellent reflections on Chapters 1-3 of our ARAB UPRISINGS book here.
ReplyDeleteSo many good questions, too - let's dive in.
MIA - Get On The Blog:
Miranda B
Chris B
Ashlie (take care of the bambino)
Melissa
Liam
Yalla - let's dive deep in class,
W
Chapter 1:
ReplyDelete1. “Overall, on a scale measuring the quality of political and social life, not one Arab state provided a high ‘standard of human welfare’ to its population” (6). I think that this observation is extremely important to our study of the Arab Spring because it represents a clear motive for an uprising. Politically, economically, and socially, the Arab world was/is unsatisfactory and the citizens are doing something about it.
2. Another concept that I found interesting was the change from “Arab socialism” to neoliberalism, which was identified as a key building block for the uprisings (13-18). There was a lot of corruption that surrounded the privatization involved in neoliberalism and many people got fed up. There was also a problem with how subsidies were used under the concept of neoliberalism that didn’t seem to serve the greatest good for the people.
3. The last point in this chapter that was important to note was the role of the army in the Tunisian and Egyptian protests. In both protests, it seemed that the turning point was when the army refused to fire on the crowds. This could be indicative of the results of a protest, so it might be something to look for in other protests.
Chapter 2:
1. “Strongmen ruling for long stretches of time have controlled Tunisia and Egypt for well over half a century” (37). I thought the section about abusive autocratic rule was very compelling motive for the protests. It would not be acceptable for the President of the U.S. to change the constitution, remove elections, and maintain a brutal security apparatus.
2. I was really surprised by the discussion about corruption, especially when it came to the privatization of businesses. “Seemingly half of the Tunisian business community can claim a Ben Ali connection through marriage” (41). This corruption led to a rejection of privatization and neoliberalism because the autocrats still had just as much power.
3. “The cyberphile arguments underscore the essential role technology played in creating a community of protest in cyberspace (since real space was not available in Tunisia or Egypt for anti-regime activity)” (50). I think it is important to highlight the impact that social media had on the protests. Social media has enabled a new caliber of protest because it allows a larger amount of people to share ideas instantly, and it is much more effective than phones, radio, and television.
Chapter 3:
1. “Weak states lack at least [a functioning government an bureaucracy that rules over the entirety of the territory] and commonly [a national identity] as well” (73-74). “It is in these two [weak] countries that the best possibility exists that the uprising will lead to true revolutionary change” (77). The first half of this chapter highlights the weak characteristic of Yemen and Libya and show the impact of weak and strong on the uprisings.
2. More specifically, the text cites “the weakness of the two states and the fragmentation of the army” and the impact on the violence level of the protests (84). In Tunisia and Egypt, the army acted as one and refused to fire on the protestors, but in Yemen and Libya, the army divided between pro-regime and anti-regime. This division led to violence, where as the solidarity of the Tunisian and Egyptian armies prevented violence.
3. “[R2P] agreed that ultimate responsibility to protect civilians rested with the international community” (88). I think this doctrine has had a huge impact on international affairs and has given outsiders the opportunity to influence another country. It seems that there has been both positive and negative outcomes that have come from this doctrine; some outside interference has aided citizens and prevent injustice, while other interference has had ulterior motives.
Question:
Why are both Tunisia AND Egypt cited as the beginning of the Arab Spring instead of just Tunisia? It seems that Egypt fed off of Tunisia, so I feel as though Tunisia started the “revolutionary wave” and Egypt just followed along like other countries.
Chapter 1:
ReplyDelete-Easily the first thing that sounded most shocking to me was how the book pointed out that Syria has been under a state of emergency for about 50 years. I wasn’t really aware that it is that bad there. However also regularly listening to NPR throughout the day, I have noticed that Syria has been a large topic recently. They fact that they have been in a state of emergency is unfathomable to me and I can’t really wrap my head around it because we rarely feel like we are in a state of emergency.
-Another topic that is foreign to me that I was surprised about is how these huge uprisings can be started over something so simple but more so necessary like food. It seems something like that would simply never happen here in the U.S.
Chapter 2:
In the comparison of Egypt and Tunisia in the chapter, I was very surprised at how different the classes are. Tunisia seems to be a much more well off country in comparison to Egypt where almost half the population is considered poor. Linking this class to the Globalization Tech. and Development class I took last semester, I had no idea that social media and media in general were a big part of the uprisings. It never really occurred to me that things like Facebook do have an impact in the Middle East.
Chapter 3:
I was overall very disturbed about how much violence went on in Yemen. I remember hearing on BBC world news late at night on NPR I would always hear at least once a day about a sniper or bombing attack in Yemen. Now that I read this it is solidified in my head about how bad the violence really was. It did not surprise me that oil was a huge part of the greed going on there.
Question:
When will we see more uprisings similar to the ones shown in these chapters? Will governments find ways to narrow down possibilities for uprisings to occur? For example shut down the internet etc.