For Publishers
DiscoveryMetadataPeer reviewHostingPublishing
For Researchers
JoinPublishReviewCollect
Register
Blog
About
Search
Advanced search
My ScienceOpen
Search
For Publishers
For Researchers
Blog
About
1,224
views
32
references
 Top references
cited by
21
    
0 reviews
 Review
0
comments
 Comment
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    1
    shares
      260
      similar
       All similar

      If you have found this article useful and you think it is important that researchers across the world have access, please consider donating, to ensure that this valuable collection remains Open Access.

      Arab Studies Quarterly is published by Pluto Journals, an Open Access publisher. This means that everyone has free and unlimited access to the full-text of all articles from our international collection of social science journals. Furthermore Pluto Journals authors don’t pay article processing charges (APCs).

      scite_

      Arab Studies Quarterly

      Volume 35, Issue 2
       
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      The Roots and Causes of the 2011 Arab Uprisings

      research-article
      Bookmark

            Abstract

            This research article attempts to scrutinize the nature and causes of the Arab uprisings which took people by surprise globally throughout 2011 and into 2012. The article argues that the repressive, violent nature of the Arab regimes and their suppression of individual liberties against a backdrop of ongoing corruption and deterioration of the economy have been among the major factors leading to the Arab revolts. In addition, the article attempts to answer the query: why were the two repressive regimes of Tunisia and Egypt so quick to come undone, whereas dismantling the Libyan regime took much longer? Finally, the article tries to develop a causation analysis as to why the Arab regimes of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman, and Sudan have not faced major political protest.

            Content

            Author and article information

            Journal
            Journal ID (doi): 10.13169
            Journal ID (publisher-id): arabstudquar
            Title: Arab Studies Quarterly
            Publisher: Pluto Journals
            ISSN (Print): 02713519
            ISSN (Electronic): 20436920
            Publication date (Print): Spring 2013
            Volume: 35
            Issue: 2
            Pages: 184-206
            Article
            Publisher ID: arabstudquar.35.2.0184
            DOI: 10.13169/arabstudquar.35.2.0184
            SO-VID: 6c5255af-1bfb-49d6-80bc-7da531895351
            Copyright © © The Center for Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies 2013
            License:

            All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

            History
            Categories
            Subject: Articles

            ScienceOpen disciplines: Social & Behavioral Sciences
            Keywords: security apparatus,Arab uprisings,protests,Muslim Brotherhood,NATO,liberal democracy

            Notes

            1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring.

            2. “Many wounded as Moroccan police beat protestors,” Reuters, May 23, 2011, http://ukreuters.com/article/2011/05/22/uk-morocco-protests-iduKTRE74L2YU2011522 (retrieved June 12, 2011).

            3. See: “Syria's crackdown,” The Irish Times , May 31, 2011, http://www.irisihtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0531/122429143757.htm (retrieved June 12, 2011); “Bahrain troops lay siege to protesters' camp,” CBS News, March 16, 2011, http://www.cbsnews.com/stroies/2011/03/16/501364/main20043683.shtml (retrieved June 12, 2011); Hakim Almasmari, “Yemeni government supporters attack protestors, injuring hundreds,” The Washington Post , March 17, 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/yemeni_government_attack_protestors_injuring_hundreds/2011/03/16/AB56R9story.html (retrieved June 12, 2011); “Libya protests: Gaddafi militia opens fire on demonstrators,” The Huffington Post , February 24, 2011, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/24/Libya_protests_gaddafi_fo_n_827568.html (retrieved June 12, 2011).

            4. Hardy Roger, “Egypt protests: An Arab spring as old order crumbles,” BBC News , February 2, 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world_middle_east_12339521 (retrieved March 9, 2011).

            5. See: “Police in south Yemen disperse ‘day of rage’ protests,” Hosted views, Agence Presse-France (Aden. Yemen: Google), February 11, 2011, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/AleqM5gXN09M4Mutdc9j11glhjbs31X5eg (retrieved February 11, 2011); Gregory White, “Bahrain now bracing for its own day of rage after giving every family $2,660 fails,” Business Insider , February 13, 2011, http://www.businessinsider.com/baharin-day-of-rage-2011-2 (retrieved February 13, 2011).

            6. “Tunisia protests against Ben Ali left 300 dead, says UN,” BBC News , February 1, 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-arfrica-12335692.

            7. “Arab Spring—Who lost Egypt?” The Economist , March 1, 2011, http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/03/arab_spring (retrieved March 9, 2011).

            8. “Libya declares nation liberated after Gaddafi death,” The Jerusalem Post , October 23, 2011, http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=242854 (retrieved October 23, 2011).

            9. “Party; Behair is not standing for re-election,” Gulf Times , February 22, 2011, http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=417637&version=18c_id=37&parent_id=17 (retrieved February 22, 2011).

            10. “Iraqi PM plans no re-election,” Voice of Russia , February 5, 2011, http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/02/05/43000042.html (retrieved February 27, 2011).

            11. “Jordan King appoints a new prime minister,” Al-Jazeera English, October 17, 2011, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/10/201110173326931126.html (retrieved October 17, 2011).

            12. Donna Abu-Nasr, “Yemen Accord signing has been postponed, Gulf official says,” Bloomberg , May 2, 2011, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-01/yemen-accord-signing-has been postponed-gulf-official-says-2-.html (retrieved May 5, 2011).

            13. “Arab protests attract Noble interest,” News 24, January 31, 2011, http://www.news24.com/world/news/Arab-protests-attract-Nobel-interest-20110131 (retrieved February 8, 2011).

            14. Anne Applebaum, “The Arab Revolutions of 2011 are more like Europe in 1848, not 1989,” Slate , February 21, 2011, http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2011/02/every_revolution_is_… (retrieved October 6, 2011).

            15. Ibid.

            16. See: ibid., and “Arab uprisings: What happens next in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya,” Channel 4, http://www.channel4.com/news/arab-uprisings-what-happens-next-in-egypt-tunisia-libya (retrieved October 6, 2011).

            17. Ibid.

            18. “The Nature of 2011 Arab Uprisings: A Comparative Analysis,” http://www.isrjournals.ir/en/archive/iranian_review_of_foreign_affairs/vol_2_no_2_summer-… (retrieved October 6, 2011).

            19. See: Alexander Cockburn, “The tweet and revolution,” Counterpunch , February 18–20, 2011, http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn02182011.html; A. Korotayer and J. Zinkina, “Egyptian Revolution: A Demographic Structural Analysis,” Entelequia Revista Interdiscipliner 13 (2011), 139–165, http://cliodynamic.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=276&Intemid=70.

            20. “The Roots of Arab Uprisings,” http://www.arabphilosophers.com/Arabic/adiscourse/aarabic/arabic_articles/Arab_Rev/Ro… (retrieved October 6, 2011).

            21. “Reasons for the Arab Uprising,” http://anilnetto.com/governance/accounability/reasons_for_the_arabuprising/ (retrieved October 6, 2011).

            22. “The roots of revolutions in the Arab world,” http://www.infex.org/middle_east_north_africa/2011/03/31/roots_ofunrest/ar.

            23. Kenan Engin, “The Arab Spring: The 5.0 democracy wave,” Hurriyet Daily News , http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=the_arab_spring_the5.0_democracy_wave_20110910 (retrieved October 28, 2011).

            24. “Arab revolutions: The immediate collapse of Arab regime,” http://www.siyassa.org.eg/Newscontent/12/116/1621/%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81%D8…

            25. “Causes of the Arab uprising,” http://thamerabubaker.elaphblog.com/print.aspx/?u=5801&a=77611.

            26. Salam Kwakbi and Basma Khadmani, “Armies, People and Dictators,” http://www.alsafhat.net/blog/?p=31496 (retrieved March 6, 2011).

            27. Bashir Abdel Fatah, “The changing role of armies in the stage of Arab revolutions,” http://www.siyassa.org.eg/Newscontent/2/106/1582/%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%84%D9 (retrieved November 21, 2011).

            28. Al Wafd (Egyptian daily newspaper), February 29, 2011.

            29. Al Sayed Yassin, “Historical roots of Egyptian authoritarianism,” June 23, 2011, http://www.alarabiya.net/save_print.php?print=11&cont_id=154507.

            30. Virginie Collombier, “Egypt: The day before, the day after,” Arab Reform Brief , February 2011, www.arab-reform.net.

            31. “Middle East protests: Country by country,” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world_12482291?print=true.

            32. “Why Gaddafi's regime was able to survive much longer,” http://www.almuchahidassiyasi.com/home/detail/NzU5MQ.

            33. Eric Schmitt, “NATO Commander: Gaddafi loyalist resilience surprise,” The New York Times , November 10, 2011, see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44854198/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times (retrieved November 10, 2011).

            34. http://www.almushaidassiyasi.com/home/detail/NZU5MQ.

            35. http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AB%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A9_17_%D9%81%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1.

            36. Charles Levinson, “Rebels move toward Gaddafi stronghold,” Wall Street Journal , July 20, 2011, http://online.wsj.com/artice/SB10001424053111904233404576485154035344420.html.

            37. Andrian Blomfield, “Rebels wage secret night-time war on the streets of Tripoli,” The Vancouver Sun , July 6, 2011, http:///www.vancouversun.com/story_print.html?id=5061000&Sponsor=.

            38. See: Al-Shuruque (Qatar daily newspaper), March 26, 2011; Al-Nayan (United Arab Emirates daily newspaper), March 28, 2011.

            39. Cynthia Johnston, “Analysis: Yemen civil war likely without swift Saleh exit,” Reuters, May 26, 2011, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/26/us_yemen_war_idustre74p4LC20110526.

            40. Inside Story, “Yemen's days of rage”—“Inside Story,” Al-Jazeera English , http://english-aljazeera.net/programmes/insidestory/2011/02/20112209231603539.html.

            41. “Yemeni peace protest collapses,” The Australian , May 2, 2011, http://www.australian.com.au/news/world/yemeni/-peace-process-collapse/story-e6frg650-1226047954704.

            42. “Yemen's Saleh agrees to step down in exchange for Immunity, official says,” Bloomberg , http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-23/yemen-s-saleh-agrees-to-step-down-in-exchange-for-immunity-official-says.html.

            43. See Kamal Eldin Osman Salih, “Kuwait: Political Consequences of Modernization, 1750–1986,” Middle Eastern Studies (University of London), January 1991.

            44. See Kamal Eldin Osman Salih, “Kuwait's Parliamentary Election: 1963–1985,” Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Villanova, USA), 15:3 (1993).

            45. See articles 36, 37, 43, 44, 45 (Chapter Three) of the Kuwait Constitution, issued on November 11, 1962.

            46. See Kamal Eldin Osman Salih, “Post-War Kuwaiti Parliamentary Election: 1992–2003, An Appraisal,” Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Villanova, USA), 27:2 (Winter 2005).

            47. Al-Qabas (Kuwaiti daily newspaper), December 1, 2011.

            48. “Saudi Arabia in historical perspective,” http://www.4sa.cn/SaudiArabia/indexKingdom/Saudi-an-htm.

            49. http://ar.wikipedia.ord/wiki/ddfdfd.

            50. “Flood sparks rare action,” Montreal Gazette , January 29, 2011, http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/floodsparks+rare+action/4189873/story.html.

            51. Ulf Laessing and Asma Alsharief, “Saudi women protest, web activists call for reform,” Swiss Info/Thomson Reuters, February 5, 2011, http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/saudi_women_protest_web_activits_call_for_reform.html?cid=29428092.

            52. “Saudi police wound 3 Shiite protestors: Witness,” France 24/AFP, March 10, 2011, http://www.france24.com/en/20110310_saudi_police_wound_3_shiite_protestors_witness.

            53. “Saudis mobilize thousands of troops to quell growing revolt,” The Independent (UK), March 5, 2011, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudis-mobilize_thousand_of_troops_to_quell_growing_reevolt_2232928.html.

            54. http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AA_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%/B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9_2011.

            55. http://hshd.net/news7648.html.

            56. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/middleeast/2011/02/110228_saudi_reforms.shtml.

            57. http://www.jidar.net/taxonomy/term/1315.

            58. See: “Saudi Arabia ‘day of rage’ protest fizzles,” Los Angeles Times , March 11, 2011, http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-saudi-unrest-20110312.0.72557.story; http://www.alasr.ws/index.cfm?method=home.con&contentid=11750.

            59. http://www.alqabas.com.kw/article.aspx?id=68624&date=19032011.

            60. See page 48.

            61. http://jider.net/taxonomy/terms/1315.

            62. http://www.shms.sa/html/story.php?id=135619.

            63. See Kamal Eldin Osman Salih, “Sudan: 1985–1989, The Fading of Parliamentary Democracy,” Journal of Modern African Studies (Cambridge University, UK), 28:2 (June 1990).

            64. “BBC News—Sudan's Omar al-Bashir will not seek re-election,” BBC News , February 21, 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12521427.

            65. http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exres/07BDP4D6-ECEA-492D-BAF8–701521696B11.htm.

            66. http://www.asharqalawsat.com.

            67. Kamal Eldin Osman Salih, “Sudan's Presidential and Parliamentary Elections of 2010: An Evaluative Study,” forthcoming paper in the Journal of Arab Association of Political Science .

            Comments

            Comment on this article