Arab Spring: Overthrowing A Regime Is Easier Than Building A Stable New System
By Maajid
Khan
December
22, 2020
File photo
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Arab
spring, a revolution for dignity and democracy that left its trail of violence
and chaos. The story begins in Tunisia, a small country situated in northern
most point of African continent. Tunisia was ruled by a dictator, Zain Al Abdin
Bin Ali. He was in power from last 23 years. Twenty three years of oppression
and corruption for the people of Tunisia, and then something happened. On 17th
of Dec 2010 a street vendor unwittingly changed everything. This man was 26
year old, his name was Mohamed Bouazizi. He sold fruit on his cart, local
officials confiscated his cart because he did not have a licence. He offered to
pay fine but was harassed and humiliated, and this is what he did.
Mohamed Bouazizi stood outside a local
government office and set himself on fire. He was taken to hospital but two
weeks later he died. By then he was a national hero; the Tunisian people
declared him a martyr. His act of defiance set of a revolution, something that
the country had never witnessed before. Thousands of people who were suffering
due to unemployment and paying for the corruption of govt officials descended
on the streets.
They were
armed with flags and cell phones, the movement spread on social media via
Facebook, YouTube and twitter and on the 11th of January 2011, a week after
Bouazizi’s death the Tunisian government fell. The disgraced president fled
into exile to Saudi Arabia and all of this happened in a matter of just 7 days.
Videos of the revolution went viral on the internet, its speed and success
inspired others across north Africa and West Asia. Protests began first in
Algeria, then in Jordan, and Oman. By the 25th of January this spirit of
revolution had reached Egypt followed by Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Morocco,
Sudan, Kuwait and even Lebanon. All of these countries were engulfed in this
revolution. More dictators were overthrown.
A girl’s fingers painted with the flags of Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia
and Libya during a demonstration in Taiz, Yemen, in June 2011. Photograph:
Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
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On the 11th of Feb 2011 Hosni Mubarak was
forced to step down. He was a man who ruled Egypt for 30 long years.
Pro-democracy protesters co-ordinating on Facebook brought his regime down in a
matter of days. By the end of the year many governments had fallen. In Yemen
Ali Abdullah Saleh had to go after 20 years in power. In Libya the powerful
dictator Muammar Gaddafi lost not just his regime but also his life. He was
captured and killed by Libyan rebel militia.
The Arab
spring was a political tsunami for the region. At least four long standing
authoritarian regimes fell. The speed and surprising ease with which these
regimes fell gave people a lot of hope. If removing a dictator was so easy
installing democracy should also be easy. But it wasn’t. The transition was
tumultuous, for some it has still not ended. The revolutionaries had learnt a
lesson overthrowing a regime is much easier than building a stable new system
Tunisia,
the country where all this began ended up being dominated by interests of small
number of families and some rich businessmen. Ten years on, the country’s
economic machine is out of order. Tunisia is in a recession with zero growth,
reports say the recession could reach -7% by 2021. Tackling unemployment was
one of the top goals of the Tunisian revolution but as of 2020 more than 16% of
Tunisia’s people don’t have jobs. Among the youth, unemployment is more than
36%. But Tunisia has some semblance of democracy.
In Egypt
the setbacks outweigh the gains. Protesters failed to politically organise
after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. The power vacuum was filled by the Muslim
Brotherhood, that too failed. The short-sighted petty agendas alienated the
public. The army in Egypt exploited all of this. The generals took power, they
placed country under the military dictatorship. There was another wave of
protests the other dictator was ousted now in 2020 the current Egyptian Govt
led by Abdel Fateh Al Sisi shows little tolerance for dissent. Some say it’s
more brutal than previous dictators.
In other
countries the protests subsided; protesters were beaten into submission or
there was violence and chaos. In Libya when Gaddafi’s regime fell there was
little left to the Libyans. Libya collapsed into conflict, to this day it is
marred by civil war. There are two rival governments and countless militant
organisations. In Syria the protests led to worst fallout for everyone involved.
A brutal dictatorship under Bashar Al Asad is targeting its own citizens. The
citizens fled war and misery to end up as refugees. Extremists and terror
groups like ISIS struck roots. Syria today is disaster and still far away from
democracy and dignity for its people. The same happened in Iraq. The uprising
was co-opted by terror groups like ISIS. When govt. was toppled the rebel
groups stepped in to fill the vacuum. They resorted to strong armed tactics.
They terrorised their own people, stoked the fires of unrest, and civil war led
to massive refugee crisis which continues to this day.
So were
theses revolutions ill-conceived or were they hijacked by power grabbers? Was
the Arab spring a step forward or a step backward for the people of these
regions? Whose fault is it that they fail to get the life of dignity and
equality that they fought for. The fault we say is in our understanding and our
expectation about what an uprising can achieve. Democratic transition is not
about overthrowing individuals. Democracy is about institutions, systems which
may appear mundane but form the bedrock of stability. A free press and
independent judiciary, a corruption free executive system. Getting rid of a
dictator is not enough, we have to clear the systemic rot. We have to build
robust institutions. Politics is hard work, sweat and grind beyond idealism. It
is a lesson we often forget. America and its allies made the same mistake with
Iraq in 2003. The removal of Saddam Hussain alone could not make Iraq a
democracy. Conducting elections alone would not ensure equal rights for all. We
need institutions. So let this be enduring lesson from the Arab spring for all
of us – strengthen institutions not individuals.
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Maajid
Khan is Lecturer Political Science
Original
Headline: Arab spring: Legacy and Lessons
Source: The Greater Kashmir
URL: https://newageislam.com/the-war-within-islam/arab-spring-overthrowing-regime-easier/d/123839
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