Global Interactions
November 20, 2014
Paper 1: Arab Spring The Arab Spring refers to a series of popular uprisings throughout the Arab world that began in December, 2010. The catalyst for these uprisings was a twenty-six year old Tunisian, who lit himself on fire outside of a civic building.[1] Mohamed Bouazizi was a fruit and vegetable cart vendor and was trying to sell produce on the streets when his cart was confiscated by a Tunisian government official. This was one of a series of harassments that he had experienced, and the last indignity that he suffered was being slapped by a female Tunisian government employee.[2] He then subsequently set himself on fire, and this event is was set off the Arab Spring, or the Arab Awakening, as it is also called.[3] However, this was only the catalyst; the Arab Spring is a fluid, ongoing event that is steeped in history with economic, political, and social factors contributing to its occurrence. After Mohamed’s self-immolation there were thirty days of national protests in Tunisia before the former Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine was removed from power.[4] During this time there were others in the Arab world watching this on satellite channels like Aljazeera, so there was an increase in cases of self-immolation in other parts of the Arab world, including Egypt.[5] Many in Egypt were watching this going on and thought that if a small country like Tunisia can overthrow a dictator through popular uprising then perhaps they could do the same thing.[6] In Egypt there was a situation in which several forces came together to call for people to go to the streets to protest against the former Mubarak regime. The people who took to the streets and led the protest were mainly socially conscious, educated youth who were also largely underemployed.[7] These men and women helped to lead the way, and went to Tahrir Square for eighteen days of protest that resulted in the Mubarak regime’s removal from power and subsequent democratic elections.[8] Uprisings then began in Yemen, Syria, Jordan, and other parts of the Arab World which ultimately led to several leaders stepping down from power peacefully.[9] In some parts of the Arab world, however, change was not achieved as peacefully. In Libya for example, Muammar Gaddafi was after killed after a long struggle with the Libyan people through a coordinated international effort and was replaced by a new leader.[10] This shows that this Arab Spring is an ongoing, fluid situation that has its roots steeped in the history. These uprisings can be largely attributed to economic factors. During the worldwide economic downturn that occurred in 2008, many investors chose to invest in commodities such as oil and agriculture crops rather than the stock markets.[11] In turn, this increased demand caused increased prices on commodities. These prices were driven up even higher from problems with producing and distributing oil, such as the Deep Horizon oil spill that occurred in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, which increased the demand for Arab Oil.[12] In the Middle East there were high numbers of unemployment, particularly youth unemployment thanks to the worldwide economic downturn. Underemployment and inflation have also exacerbated this already tense situation.[13] Another factor that attributed to the uprisings was political tension. The different protests throughout the Arab world forced many government officials to initiate political reforms and warm up to political change.[14] Not all of these uprisings had the same degree of success; some achieved more political reform and change than others. Overall, this only increased the tension in countries across the Arab World that had already been enduring longtime political oppression.[15] In the Middle East, there had been leaders who had been in power for decades or government officials who ran in elections unopposed and silenced dissent among the people, which greatly increased the tension between the governing and the governed.[16] Even thought the future political situation of many of these countries is not certain, what is certain is the substantial impact that politics has had in fueling the uprisings. Another important factor that led to the uprisings is the social climate of the Middle East. In late 2010, the typical citizen of the Arab world was unemployed, hungry, and relatively young.[17] A boom in the population throughout the Middle East recently has caused a decrease in the average age of the people. For example, a majority of Yemen citizens was younger than eighteen during the uprisings.[18] Even though these younger people were more likely to be affected by unemployment, they were more educated and more tech savvy than the older people in society.[19] This was a main reason social media was used as a medium to spread ideas and the uprising itself, because the younger people were more familiar with this method of communication which instantly spread ideas across country boundaries.[20] Ultimately, the uprisings throughout the Middle East were set off by a vegetable cart vendor setting himself on fire in an act of protest against an oppressive government.[21] However, this was only the catalyst; the Arab Spring is a fluid, ongoing event that is steeped in history with economic, political, and social factors that contribute to its occurrence.

Annotated Bibliography
"Arab Spring." Global Issues in Context Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Global Issues In Context. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?&source=gale&idigest=5240efa7b366f5e884b288775e253a14&prodId=GIC&userGroupName=gale&tabID=&docId=CP3208520388&type=retrieve&contentSet=GREF&version=1.0

This source is an article from Global Issues in Context on the historical context of the Arab Spring. This is useful to my paper because it supports my thesis that the Arab Spring is steeped in history, and the article provides context for this event. I will mainly use this source to gather information of the causes of the movement, as well as for some general background on the issue.

"BBC World News." BBC. 16 Dec 2013. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-12482315 (accessed Nov 16, 2014).

This source is a news article from BBC World News. It is very useful to my paper because it gives an in-depth look at the Arab Spring as it occurred within each respective country. This source is also useful to my paper because it describes the conditions within each country that led to the Arab Spring. I feel as if a news article would help to add variety to my sources, as well as provide information relevant to my topic.

Carodoza-Moore, Laurie. LAURIE CARODOZA-MOORE AT THE UNITED NATIONS: ARAB SPRING BRINGS VIOLATION OF MINORITY WOMEN'S RIGHTS. United Nations.

This source is a video recording of Laurie Carodoza-Moore speaking at a United Nations conference about the role women have had in emerging democracies. It is useful to my paper because she describes some of the ways in which the Arab Spring has violated the rights of women in Egypt. What I will mainly use this source for is to find ways in which the rights of women were violated during, and as a result of, the Arab Spring. This will be useful because it will provide information on how the event played out on the world stage.

"The Arab awakening: Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain: A roundup of the popular protests that have swept the region over the last few months." Aljazeera. 22 Feb 2011. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/2011/02/2011222121213770475.html (accessed Nov 18, 2014).

This source is a news article from Aljazeera that explores the social climate o each Middle East country pre and during the Arab Spring. This is similar to the BBC source, except is covers some different information in each country. This source is relevant to my paper for providing background information, and for source variety.

Trager, Eric. "Why Mubarak's Trial Could Mean the End of Egypt's Youth Revolution." The Washington Institute. 5 Aug 2011. http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/why-mubaraks-trial-could-mean-the-end-of-egypts-youth-revolution (accessed Nov 18, 2014).

This article written by Eric Trager for The Washington Institute was written before the Arab Spring, but foreshadows the events that were to come. It does so by setting the context for civil unrest, and gives explanations of the political and social factors that contributed to the Arab Spring. This source is useful to my paper because it provides a thorough context for my topic.

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[1] “Arab Spring.” Global Issues in Context Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Global Issues In Context. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?&source=gale&idigest=5240efa7b366f5e884b288775e253a14&prodId=GIC&userGroupName=gale&tabID=&docId=CP3208520388&type=retrieve&contentSet=GREF&version=1.0
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] "BBC World News." BBC. 16 Dec 2013. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-12482315 (accessed Nov 16, 2014).
[5] Eric Trager, "Why Mubarak's Trial Could Mean the End of Egypt's Youth Revolution." The Washington Institute. 5 Aug 2011. http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/why-mubaraks-trial-could-mean-the-end-of-egypts-youth-revolution (accessed Nov 18, 2014).
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] "The Arab awakening: Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain: A roundup of the popular protests that have swept the region over the last few months." Aljazeera. 22 Feb 2011. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/2011/02/2011222121213770475.html (accessed Nov 18, 2014).
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] “Arab Spring,” 15.
[14] Laurie Carodoza-Moore, LAURIE CARODOZA-MOORE AT THE UNITED NATIONS: ARAB SPRING BRINGS VIOLATION OF MINORITY WOMEN'S RIGHTS. United Nations.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17]“Arab Spring,” 15.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Eric Trager, "Why Mubarak's Trial Could Mean the End of Egypt's Youth Revolution"
[21] “Arab Spring”