International reactions to the Arab Spring
Encyclopedia
The international reactions to the Arab Spring
have been disparate and many, with most Western
and democratic
countries generally supporting protesters demonstrating for expanded liberties and civil rights
in many authoritarian
countries of the Middle East
and North Africa
in late 2010 and 2011.
wrote an op-ed for The Australian
published 20 May 2011 entitled "Keep the faith with the Arab spring." Rudd compared the struggle of Arabs demonstrating for political reforms and democratisation to the sputtering pro-democracy movements within Australia's geographic proximity to Fiji
, Indonesia
and Myanmar
, as well as more successful democratisation efforts in India
, South Africa
, and Turkey
. He also indicated Australian support for the protesters, writing, "The Arab democratic revolutions have made it clear that democracy is not something called for by the West. The call for democracy came resoundingly from within and to the complete surprise of the outside world. Now the international community has a responsibility to stand in support of Arab citizens in their call for democracy, human rights and the rule of law... That is why countries like Australia take a long-term approach to supporting democracy."
— At a seminar on 16 June, 2011 held by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies
, Permanent Secretary of Defence, Justice and Security Segakweng Tsiane, representing the Batswana government, called the Arab Spring a "wakeup call." She said the popular uprisings in Egypt
, Tunisia
, and other countries indicated that those governments did not do enough to accommodate the desires of their citizenry. Tsiane expressed dissatisfaction with the way the Arab Spring has manifested, however, saying that inclusive national dialogue would be preferable to uprisings.
— Canadian daily The Globe and Mail
has suggested that "Canada's cautious approach toward the Arab Spring democracy movements is in contrast to many other G8 nations." Despite his stiff criticism of crackdowns by the Libya
n, Syria
n, and Yemen
i governments, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
said on 26 May that his government believed international aid to post-revolutionary countries should be provided by regional financial institutions such as the African Development Bank
. Canada, he said, would not offer more direct financial assistance to countries revolutionised by the Arab Spring.
— In an extended question-and-answer session posted on the Eritrean Ministry of Information website in late May and early June, President Isaias Afewerki
said the events in the Arab world should be viewed as separate but inter-related, with corruption, socioeconomic stratification, and dependence on foreign governments being a factor common to many of the countries that experienced unrest. He blamed the United States
for a Middle Eastern policy he said created "chaos...in a creative way to further their aims and interests". He criticised "external intervention" in the affairs of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and other countries affected by the uprisings and said, "The fact remains that every people must solve their own problems according to their own convictions and without any external interference." Afewerki suggested that at least some of the protests were sparked and fueled by the West
, saying, "These developments have served to teach a lesson to everyone about the wayward western policies in the last 20 years." He accused the West of attempting to create a New World Order
by manipulating organisations like the African Union
and the Arab League
into interfering with countries to Western countries' advantage.
— Foreign Minister Alain Juppé
spoke at the Arab World Institute
for a symposium on the Arab Spring in Paris
on 16 April. He took a tone of humility, acknowledging that the revolutionary wave came as a "surprise" to France and admitting, "For too long we thought that the authoritarian regimes were the only bastions against extremism in the Arab world. Too long, we have brandished the Islamist threat as a pretext for justifying to an extent turning a blind eye on governments which were flouting freedom and curbing their country’s development." Juppé compared the Arab Spring favourably to the Islamic Golden Age
and said, "We mustn't be afraid of this 'Arab Spring'." He said that while France does not have a policy of supporting "regime change", it intends to speak up for human rights
in the Arab world
and back transitions to democracy in North Africa, a region with which France has historically had close ties. He expressed confidence in protesters and concluded the speech by saying he was hopeful about the outcome of the Arab Spring. President Nicolas Sarkozy
urged G8
countries to agree on a financial aid package to post-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia on 26 May in response to requests by the transitional authorities in Egypt and Tunisia for money. Speaking at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C.
, on 6 June, Juppé reiterated many of the main points of his 16 April address, saying, "Above all, we must not be afraid of the Arab Spring because it embodies universal values: dignity, freedom, respect for human rights, the right of people to choose their own leaders." He took a shot at American
political scientist Samuel P. Huntington
's controversial book The Clash of Civilizations, which influenced Western thinking regarding Islam
and the Islamic world in the post–Cold War
era, claiming that "allowing the flame of hope kindled by the Arab Spring to go out would be vindicating the defenders of the clash of civilisations." Juppé also made reference to Sarkozy's support for financial aid to Egypt and Tunisia, as well as its participation in international military efforts
to end the civil war
in Libya.
— On 14 April, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman claimed that only economic stability would lead to political stability in the Arab world. He called the Arab Spring "an opportunity for the Arab world to move to democracy and prosperity" but emphasised that his government considers "the security of Israel," with a history of political and ethnic tensions within the Muslim-majority Middle East, to be paramount.
— Prime Minister Karim Masimov told Reuters
on 2 April that his government is paying close attention to the protests and revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa. Masimov suggested that a lack of educational opportunities and social mobility, which he claimed were not major problems in Kazakhstan compared to in Egypt and Tunisia, had contributed to the revolutionary fervor gripping the Arab world. "What is the biggest difference between them and us?" Masimov asked rhetorically. "People in Kazakhstan, the young generation in Kazakhstan, have hope and they have an opportunity to go forward." He admitted that the Arab Spring highlighted political reforms needed in Astana
and said Kazakhstan would transition peacefully toward democracy without experiencing the turmoil that the Arab world was going through.
— On 8 June, President Roza Otunbayeva
addressed the World Economic Forum
in Vienna
, Austria
, and spoke briefly about the Arab Spring. Otunbayeva, who came to power as Kyrgyzstan's interim leader after the so-called 2010 Kyrgyzstani revolution and presided over an parliamentary democracy that gave a counter-revolutionary party a plurality said: "After what happened in North Africa and the Middle East, slowly European countries started recogniding that it's unacceptable, outrageous, that those dictators shoot their people," and urged other Central Asian countries to follow Kyrgyzstan's example or risk experiencing a revolution like those in Tunisia and Egypt.
— In a speech on Islam and moderation in Oxford
, England
, on 17 May, Prime Minister Najib Razak touched on the events of the Arab Spring, noting the "overwhelming" pace and scale of the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. He added, "But amidst the chaos and the confusion we should not lose sight of the fact that these countries and peoples now face a fateful choice: the choice between extremism and intolerance ... and a peaceful, democratic moderation that will grant them more freedom of expression, not less." In stating Malaysia's support for the Palestinian nationalist movement
, he pointedly added, "In supporting the Palestinian and other righteous causes, Malaysia will not support violence against non-combatants, civilians, women, children, the aged and infirm." Najib suggested moderates could prevail in the Arab Spring and break the cycle of violence and oppression in the region, comparing the situation to the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland
, the Indian independence movement
, and civil rights struggles in South Africa and the United States
.
— On 2 August, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully
expressed his government's optimism for a positive outcome to the Arab Spring, in his opinion; while also ultimately cautioning that "this transition process will not be straightforward [and] we cannot take the changes for granted." McCully remarked on the unexpected nature of the uprisings and said: "What we do know is that we are now dealing with a series of very different leadership models and high expectations for a better future. While elites remain unchanged in many countries, Arab leaders will have to become more responsive to their people." He also said New Zealand was engaging with Arab governments and had offered its diplomatic and economic support to transitional authorities in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.
— President Dmitri Medvedev voiced consternation over the Arab Spring on 14 June, telling his Uzbekistan
i counterpart President Islam Karimov that he hoped it would bring about an outcome "that is clear and predictable for us." He said the revolutionary wave
could destabilise Russia and its neighbours. On 14 July, he compared the Arab Spring to the fall of the Berlin Wall
and said it proved that "socioeconomic reforms, reforms that would take into account the interests of the widest majority of the population, must be carried out in due time".
— At a summit in Istanbul
in mid-March, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
said the revolts in the region signified a popular "demand for change." He warned that Arab governments would be well suited to be responsive to their people's demands and refrain from using violence or coercion. Erdoğan stressed that Turkey will not intervene in the affairs of other countries, but it "will continue to offer sincere and constructive criticism."
— Prime Minister David Cameron
expressed both enthusiasm and caution about the Arab Spring at the G8 meeting in late May 2011, offering financial assistance to post-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia and saying, "I want a very simple and clear message to come out of this summit, and that is that the most powerful nations on earth have come together and are saying to those in the Middle East and North Africa who want greater democracy, greater freedom, greater civil rights, we are on your side." He warned that if Western governments did not provide aid, prolonged chaos in the region could breed Islamic extremism
and accelerate the pace of immigration by North Africans to Europe
an countries, something Foreign Secretary William Hague
said the UK believed to be unacceptable earlier in the month.
— On 19 May, President Barack Obama
gave a foreign policy speech in regards to the Arab Spring. He contrasted the ideology of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
, recently killed
by ISAF operatives, with that of pro-democracy protesters in the Middle East and North Africa, saying: "By the time we found bin Laden, al Qaeda’s agenda had come to be seen by the vast majority of the region as a dead end, and the people of the Middle East and North Africa had taken their future into their own hands." Obama praised the demonstrators, comparing their efforts to bring about reform to the actions of the Boston Tea Party
and Rosa Parks
in American history. He criticized socioeconomic stratification in the Middle East, saying, "The nations of the Middle East and North Africa won their independence long ago, but in too many places their people did not. In too many countries, power has been concentrated in the hands of the few." He added that "through the moral force of non-violence, the people of the region have achieved more change in six months than terrorists have accomplished in decades. Obama also pledged to continue U.S. security policy in the region, but said he would also emphasize the opposition of the United States to violent and repressive governmental responses to the Arab Spring and its support for human rights and democratic reforms, claiming, "Our support for these principles is not a secondary interest... [It] will be the policy of the United States to promote reform across the region, and to support transitions to democracy."
France
, the former colonial ruler of Tunisia
, refused to denounce President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali's attempt to disperse demonstrators in his country by force in January 2011 prior to the Tunisian revolution
; Foreign Affairs Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie
said the French "must not stand out as lesson-givers" in Tunisia, while the French minister for agriculture defended Ben Ali, saying, "President Ben Ali is someone who's frequently judged badly, [but] he's done a lot of things." The French government later took a leading role in supporting the opposition
to Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi
in Libya
, forming a tripartite alliance with the United Kingdom
and Lebanon
on the United Nations Security Council
to successfully lobby for international military intervention
, though it was Peru
that was the first country to sever bilateral relations with the government in Tripoli
over the crackdown on Libyan protesters
in February 2011.
The government of Iran
condemned the Egypt
ian government's response to protests
and was harshly critical of the Bahrain
i monarchy's reaction to the Shia-led demonstrations
in the Gulf
archipelago, but has virtually ignored President Bashar al-Assad
's violent suppression of protests during the uprising
in Syria
and according to the U.S.
government, has possibly provided aid to suppressing the protests.
Conversely, while Qatar
staked out its place as a primary backer of the attempted revolution against Gaddafi and a "key ally" of the partially recognized National Transitional Council
, the provisional government of the self-declared Libyan Republic, it steadfastly supported the supranational Gulf Co-operation Council in its military intervention to quell protests in neighboring Bahrain, contributing troops to the Peninsula Shield Force mission there.
The government of Morocco
received praise from the U.S. government for its response to major protests
despite numerous deaths there as well as in protests in the Moroccan-administered "Southern Provinces
" in Western Sahara
, though the U.S. condemned the governments of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen
for their actions in dealing with demonstrators. However, it has stopped short of calling for regime change in Bahrain alone among those states.
Saudi Arabia
was one of the first Arab
countries to publicly condemn the Syrian government over its reaction to the uprising in that country, with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
giving a televised speech shortly after midnight on 8 August to announce the recall of its ambassador from Damascus
and warn authorities to institute major reforms and stop all violence. However, it was also the largest contributor of troops to GCC operations to help suppress the Bahraini uprising, as well as a vocal supporter of Bahrain's embattled monarchy amidst protests and violence in Manama
. Saudi Arabia also supported a GCC-sponsored transition agreement to bring peace to Yemen and phase out the incumbent government there, which was repeatedly rebuffed despite Saudi pressure. After an attempt on Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh
's life, Saudi authorities allowed the wounded leader to undergo two months of hospital treatment in Riyadh
, the Saudi Arabian capital. However, one Saudi government official told reporters weeks later that the government would not allow Saleh to return to Yemen, and as of August 2011, he remains in Riyadh.
and Robert Fisk
, have argued that the range of international reactions to the various protests, uprisings, and revolutions associated with the Arab Spring demonstrate hypocrisy on the part of governments in the Western world
and elsewhere. Žižek, a Slovenia
n political theorist, charged that the "western liberal reaction to the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia frequently shows hypocrisy and cynicism".
When asked if he considered Hosni Mubarak
, the Egypt
ian president, to be an "authoritarian ruler" prior to the popular movement that ousted him from power, the United States
' President
Barack Obama
replied that he tends "not to use labels for folks", called him a "stalwart ally in many respects to the United States", and claimed that Mubarak "has been a force for stability and good in the region", something American journalist Jeremy Scahill
criticized. Scahill also claimed that "the day before US missiles began raining down on ... Libya
... security forces under the control of Yemen
's US-backed president, Ali Abdullah Saleh
, massacred more than fifty people who were participating in an overwhelmingly peaceful protest". The Obama administration has since called for Saleh to hand over power to his vice president and commit to a transition to plural democracy for Yemen, but its comparative sluggishness in supporting the Yemeni protest movement versus its swift backing of Libyan protesters and rebel fighters faced some criticism. American academic and investigative journalist Nir Rosen
also criticized the U.S. government for more than doubling military assistance to Yemen between 2009 and 2010.
Australia
n journalist and documentarian John Pilger
called U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton's condemnation of "governments that arrested protestors and crushed free expression" a "spectacular hypocrisy", claiming that "her government was planning to close down those parts of the internet that encouraged dissent and truth-telling".
During international operations
in Libya, Irish
journalist Patrick Cockburn
called NATO's concern for Libyans "deeply hypocritical ... when they ignore or promote savage repression in Bahrain
". Veteran British
journalist Robert Fisk also condemned the relative lack of concern on the part of Western leaders over the security crackdown in Bahrain. After British Prime Minister
David Cameron
, referring to the UK's support for the military intervention in Libya, stated that "just because we can't intervene everywhere, doesn't mean we shouldn't intervene somewhere", British commentator Johann Hari
argued, "While 'we' are intervening to cause horrific harm to civilians in much of the world, it's plainly false to claim to be driven by a desire to prevent other people behaving very like us".
American philosopher and counterculture commentator Noam Chomsky
claimed, "The U.S. and its allies will do anything they can to prevent authentic democracy in the Arab world. The reason is very simple. Across the region, an overwhelming majority of the population regards the United States as the main threat to their interests."
Western leaders were not the only targets of rebuke from commentators for their reactions to the Arab Spring. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah
's response to the uprisings also came under criticism, with Iran
ian academic Hamid Dabashi
penning an op-ed for Al Jazeera
in which he called Nasrallah a "once mighty warrior being bypassed by the force of history", accusing him of hypocrisy for supporting Shia protesters in Egypt and Bahrain but backing the "murderous" Shia government in Syria
against peaceful demonstrators. Nasrallah, Dabashi claimed, had started out as a supporter of the Arab Spring when it appeared it would affect only allies of the West, but was deliberately silent on protests, including the Iranian protests
, that sought to topple anti-Western governments.
British journalist Brian Whitaker
said King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia "[betrayed] more than a little irony" in his condemnation of Bashar al-Assad's regime, considering Saudi Arabia's dearth of political freedom. He concluded that the Saudi monarchy's positioning on the Arab Spring protests was part of ongoing efforts to outmanoeuvre and isolate its traditional rival Iran, an ally of Assad, as well as to limit the actual amount of political liberalisation occurring in the region. Whitaker criticised the Saudi-sponsored GCC initiative in Yemen, claiming it "was meant to prevent a genuine revolution, not help to accomplish it", and called Saudi Arabia's actions amidst the regional unrest a "monarchical insurance scheme" evident in its intervention to support the Bahraini monarchy.
accordingly revised its forecast for 2011 oil prices to reflect a higher price, and also reported that food prices could also increase. Additionally, concerns about Egypt's Suez Canal
had raised shipping and oil prices.
The World Bank's June 2011 Global Economic Prospects report estimated that the turmoil may reduce growth in the region by 1 percent or more, with countries such as Egypt and Tunisia registering growth rates 3 or more percentage points lower than what they would have been in the absence of the crises. Overall GDP in Egypt is projected to rise 1.0 percent in 2011.
won praise for its coverage of the protests, angering several governments. United States Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton
remarked, "Al Jazeera has been the leader in that they are literally changing people's minds and attitudes. And like it or hate it, it is really effective". She also stated that "viewership of Al Jazeera is going up in the United States because it's real news. You may not agree with it, but you feel like you're getting real news around the clock instead of a million commercials..."
The use of social media
has been extensive. As one Egyptian activist tweeted during the protests, "We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world". Internet censorship
has also been a factor, and entire nation states were taken almost completely offline.
In an attempt to quantify the likelihood of regime change in Arab World countries following the protests, The Economist Intelligence Unit created its "Shoe-Thrower's index". The name is derived from shoeing
: throwing shoes, showing the sole of one's shoe, or using shoes to insult, all of which are forms of protest primarily associated with the Arab world. According to their index, Yemen
has the highest likelihood of a revolution, whereas Qatar
has the lowest. The index factors in the number of years the current ruler has been in power, the percentage of the population consisting of young people, per capita GDP, democracy index
, political corruption
, and freedom of the press
. BBC News
used its own "Unrest Index" in its analysis of the protests.
Alen Mattich of the Wall Street Journal created the "Revolting Index" to rate the likelihood of revolts by nation based on "social unfairness, propensity to revolt, and a trigger". Mattich readily admits, however, that "the methodology is crude. There's been no econometric work done". The index listed a number of African nations towards the top of the list as well as some Asian nations.
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
have been disparate and many, with most Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
and democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
countries generally supporting protesters demonstrating for expanded liberties and civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
in many authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
countries of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
in late 2010 and 2011.
General statements
— Foreign Minister Kevin RuddKevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
wrote an op-ed for The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
published 20 May 2011 entitled "Keep the faith with the Arab spring." Rudd compared the struggle of Arabs demonstrating for political reforms and democratisation to the sputtering pro-democracy movements within Australia's geographic proximity to Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, as well as more successful democratisation efforts in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. He also indicated Australian support for the protesters, writing, "The Arab democratic revolutions have made it clear that democracy is not something called for by the West. The call for democracy came resoundingly from within and to the complete surprise of the outside world. Now the international community has a responsibility to stand in support of Arab citizens in their call for democracy, human rights and the rule of law... That is why countries like Australia take a long-term approach to supporting democracy."
— At a seminar on 16 June, 2011 held by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Africa Center for Strategic StudiesThe formation of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies began in 1994, when U.S. European Command petitioned the Chairman of the House International Relations Committee to create a Center on African Affairs that emulated the George C. Marshall European Center...
, Permanent Secretary of Defence, Justice and Security Segakweng Tsiane, representing the Batswana government, called the Arab Spring a "wakeup call." She said the popular uprisings in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, and other countries indicated that those governments did not do enough to accommodate the desires of their citizenry. Tsiane expressed dissatisfaction with the way the Arab Spring has manifested, however, saying that inclusive national dialogue would be preferable to uprisings.
— Canadian daily The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
has suggested that "Canada's cautious approach toward the Arab Spring democracy movements is in contrast to many other G8 nations." Despite his stiff criticism of crackdowns by the Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
n, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n, and Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
i governments, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
said on 26 May that his government believed international aid to post-revolutionary countries should be provided by regional financial institutions such as the African Development Bank
African Development Bank
The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa...
. Canada, he said, would not offer more direct financial assistance to countries revolutionised by the Arab Spring.
— In an extended question-and-answer session posted on the Eritrean Ministry of Information website in late May and early June, President Isaias Afewerki
Isaias Afewerki
Isaias Afewerki is the first and current President of Eritrea, attaining that status when he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front to victory in May 1991, thus ending the 30-year old armed liberation struggle that the Eritrean people refer to as "Gedli".-Early life and rise to power:Afewerki...
said the events in the Arab world should be viewed as separate but inter-related, with corruption, socioeconomic stratification, and dependence on foreign governments being a factor common to many of the countries that experienced unrest. He blamed the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for a Middle Eastern policy he said created "chaos...in a creative way to further their aims and interests". He criticised "external intervention" in the affairs of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and other countries affected by the uprisings and said, "The fact remains that every people must solve their own problems according to their own convictions and without any external interference." Afewerki suggested that at least some of the protests were sparked and fueled by the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, saying, "These developments have served to teach a lesson to everyone about the wayward western policies in the last 20 years." He accused the West of attempting to create a New World Order
New World Order
New World Order, New world order or The New World Order may refer to:*New world order , any period of history evidencing a dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power...
by manipulating organisations like the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
and the Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
into interfering with countries to Western countries' advantage.
— Foreign Minister Alain Juppé
Alain Juppé
Alain Marie Juppé is a French politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also served as Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac and the Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs from 2010 to 2011...
spoke at the Arab World Institute
Arab World Institute
The Institut du Monde Arabe or Arab World Institute , in English, was established in 1980 in Paris, when 18 Arab countries concluded an agreement with France to establish the Institute to disseminate information about the Arab world and set in motion detailed research to cover Arabic and the Arab...
for a symposium on the Arab Spring in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 16 April. He took a tone of humility, acknowledging that the revolutionary wave came as a "surprise" to France and admitting, "For too long we thought that the authoritarian regimes were the only bastions against extremism in the Arab world. Too long, we have brandished the Islamist threat as a pretext for justifying to an extent turning a blind eye on governments which were flouting freedom and curbing their country’s development." Juppé compared the Arab Spring favourably to the Islamic Golden Age
Islamic Golden Age
During the Islamic Golden Age philosophers, scientists and engineers of the Islamic world contributed enormously to technology and culture, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations...
and said, "We mustn't be afraid of this 'Arab Spring'." He said that while France does not have a policy of supporting "regime change", it intends to speak up for human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
in the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
and back transitions to democracy in North Africa, a region with which France has historically had close ties. He expressed confidence in protesters and concluded the speech by saying he was hopeful about the outcome of the Arab Spring. President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
urged G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
countries to agree on a financial aid package to post-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia on 26 May in response to requests by the transitional authorities in Egypt and Tunisia for money. Speaking at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, on 6 June, Juppé reiterated many of the main points of his 16 April address, saying, "Above all, we must not be afraid of the Arab Spring because it embodies universal values: dignity, freedom, respect for human rights, the right of people to choose their own leaders." He took a shot at American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political scientist Samuel P. Huntington
Samuel P. Huntington
Samuel Phillips Huntington was an influential American political scientist who wrote highly-regarded books in a half-dozen sub-fields of political science, starting in 1957...
's controversial book The Clash of Civilizations, which influenced Western thinking regarding Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and the Islamic world in the post–Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era, claiming that "allowing the flame of hope kindled by the Arab Spring to go out would be vindicating the defenders of the clash of civilisations." Juppé also made reference to Sarkozy's support for financial aid to Egypt and Tunisia, as well as its participation in international military efforts
2011 military intervention in Libya
On 19 March 2011, a multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which was taken in response to events during the 2011 Libyan civil war...
to end the civil war
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
in Libya.
— On 14 April, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman claimed that only economic stability would lead to political stability in the Arab world. He called the Arab Spring "an opportunity for the Arab world to move to democracy and prosperity" but emphasised that his government considers "the security of Israel," with a history of political and ethnic tensions within the Muslim-majority Middle East, to be paramount.
— Prime Minister Karim Masimov told Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
on 2 April that his government is paying close attention to the protests and revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa. Masimov suggested that a lack of educational opportunities and social mobility, which he claimed were not major problems in Kazakhstan compared to in Egypt and Tunisia, had contributed to the revolutionary fervor gripping the Arab world. "What is the biggest difference between them and us?" Masimov asked rhetorically. "People in Kazakhstan, the young generation in Kazakhstan, have hope and they have an opportunity to go forward." He admitted that the Arab Spring highlighted political reforms needed in Astana
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
and said Kazakhstan would transition peacefully toward democracy without experiencing the turmoil that the Arab world was going through.
— On 8 June, President Roza Otunbayeva
Roza Otunbayeva
Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva is a Kyrgyz diplomat and politican who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 7 April 2010 until 1 December 2011. She was sworn in on July 3, 2010, after acting as interim leader following the 2010 April revolution which led to the ousting of then President Kurmanbek...
addressed the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and spoke briefly about the Arab Spring. Otunbayeva, who came to power as Kyrgyzstan's interim leader after the so-called 2010 Kyrgyzstani revolution and presided over an parliamentary democracy that gave a counter-revolutionary party a plurality said: "After what happened in North Africa and the Middle East, slowly European countries started recogniding that it's unacceptable, outrageous, that those dictators shoot their people," and urged other Central Asian countries to follow Kyrgyzstan's example or risk experiencing a revolution like those in Tunisia and Egypt.
— In a speech on Islam and moderation in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on 17 May, Prime Minister Najib Razak touched on the events of the Arab Spring, noting the "overwhelming" pace and scale of the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. He added, "But amidst the chaos and the confusion we should not lose sight of the fact that these countries and peoples now face a fateful choice: the choice between extremism and intolerance ... and a peaceful, democratic moderation that will grant them more freedom of expression, not less." In stating Malaysia's support for the Palestinian nationalist movement
Palestinian nationalism
Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people. It has roots in Pan-Arabism and other movements rejecting colonialism and calling for national independence. More recently, Palestinian Nationalism is expressed through the Israeli–Palestinian conflict...
, he pointedly added, "In supporting the Palestinian and other righteous causes, Malaysia will not support violence against non-combatants, civilians, women, children, the aged and infirm." Najib suggested moderates could prevail in the Arab Spring and break the cycle of violence and oppression in the region, comparing the situation to the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, the Indian independence movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
, and civil rights struggles in South Africa and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
— On 2 August, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully
Murray McCully
Murray Stuart McCully is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister for Sport and Recreation, and Minister for the Rugby World Cup.-Early life:...
expressed his government's optimism for a positive outcome to the Arab Spring, in his opinion; while also ultimately cautioning that "this transition process will not be straightforward [and] we cannot take the changes for granted." McCully remarked on the unexpected nature of the uprisings and said: "What we do know is that we are now dealing with a series of very different leadership models and high expectations for a better future. While elites remain unchanged in many countries, Arab leaders will have to become more responsive to their people." He also said New Zealand was engaging with Arab governments and had offered its diplomatic and economic support to transitional authorities in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.
— President Dmitri Medvedev voiced consternation over the Arab Spring on 14 June, telling his Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
i counterpart President Islam Karimov that he hoped it would bring about an outcome "that is clear and predictable for us." He said the revolutionary wave
Revolutionary wave
A revolutionary wave is a series of revolutions occurring in various locations in a similar time period. In many cases, an initial revolution inspires other "affiliate revolutions" with similar aims....
could destabilise Russia and its neighbours. On 14 July, he compared the Arab Spring to the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
and said it proved that "socioeconomic reforms, reforms that would take into account the interests of the widest majority of the population, must be carried out in due time".
— At a summit in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
in mid-March, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
said the revolts in the region signified a popular "demand for change." He warned that Arab governments would be well suited to be responsive to their people's demands and refrain from using violence or coercion. Erdoğan stressed that Turkey will not intervene in the affairs of other countries, but it "will continue to offer sincere and constructive criticism."
— Prime Minister David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
expressed both enthusiasm and caution about the Arab Spring at the G8 meeting in late May 2011, offering financial assistance to post-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia and saying, "I want a very simple and clear message to come out of this summit, and that is that the most powerful nations on earth have come together and are saying to those in the Middle East and North Africa who want greater democracy, greater freedom, greater civil rights, we are on your side." He warned that if Western governments did not provide aid, prolonged chaos in the region could breed Islamic extremism
Islamic extremism
Islamic extremism refers to two related and partially overlapping but also distinct aspects of extremist interpretations and pursuits of Islamic ideology:...
and accelerate the pace of immigration by North Africans to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries, something Foreign Secretary William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
said the UK believed to be unacceptable earlier in the month.
-
- Just a day after Cameron's remarks, The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
reported that British officers were training snipers and elite security forces in Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
that had been deployed to squelch protesters calling for reforms in Saudi Arabia as well as neighboring BahrainBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
. On 17 June, Hague described the Arab Spring as a more transformational event than the September 11 attacks of 2001 and claimed that "the real nature of the Arab world is expressed in Tahrir Square, not at Ground ZeroWorld Trade Center siteThe World Trade Center site , also known as "Ground Zero" after the September 11 attacks, sits on in Lower Manhattan in New York City...
".
- Just a day after Cameron's remarks, The Observer
— On 19 May, President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
gave a foreign policy speech in regards to the Arab Spring. He contrasted the ideology of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, recently killed
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
by ISAF operatives, with that of pro-democracy protesters in the Middle East and North Africa, saying: "By the time we found bin Laden, al Qaeda’s agenda had come to be seen by the vast majority of the region as a dead end, and the people of the Middle East and North Africa had taken their future into their own hands." Obama praised the demonstrators, comparing their efforts to bring about reform to the actions of the Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
and Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
in American history. He criticized socioeconomic stratification in the Middle East, saying, "The nations of the Middle East and North Africa won their independence long ago, but in too many places their people did not. In too many countries, power has been concentrated in the hands of the few." He added that "through the moral force of non-violence, the people of the region have achieved more change in six months than terrorists have accomplished in decades. Obama also pledged to continue U.S. security policy in the region, but said he would also emphasize the opposition of the United States to violent and repressive governmental responses to the Arab Spring and its support for human rights and democratic reforms, claiming, "Our support for these principles is not a secondary interest... [It] will be the policy of the United States to promote reform across the region, and to support transitions to democracy."
Varying reactions
Harsh government responses to protests in many Arab countries have met international condemnation. However, there have been some notable exceptions.France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the former colonial ruler of Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, refused to denounce President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali's attempt to disperse demonstrators in his country by force in January 2011 prior to the Tunisian revolution
Tunisian revolution
The Tunisian Revolution is an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations taking place in Tunisia. The events began in December 2010 and led to the ousting of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011...
; Foreign Affairs Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie
Michèle Alliot-Marie
Michèle Jeanne Honorine Alliot-Marie, born 10 September 1946 and nicknamed MAM, is a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement . A member of all but one right-wing governments of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, she was the first woman in France to hold the portfolios of Defense , the...
said the French "must not stand out as lesson-givers" in Tunisia, while the French minister for agriculture defended Ben Ali, saying, "President Ben Ali is someone who's frequently judged badly, [but] he's done a lot of things." The French government later took a leading role in supporting the opposition
Anti-Gaddafi forces
The anti-Gaddafi forces were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi, killing him in the process. These opposition forces included organised and armed militia groups, participants in the 2011 Libyan civil war, Libyan diplomats who switched their...
to Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, forming a tripartite alliance with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
on the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
to successfully lobby for international military intervention
2011 military intervention in Libya
On 19 March 2011, a multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which was taken in response to events during the 2011 Libyan civil war...
, though it was Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
that was the first country to sever bilateral relations with the government in Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
over the crackdown on Libyan protesters
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
in February 2011.
The government of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
condemned the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian government's response to protests
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
and was harshly critical of the Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
i monarchy's reaction to the Shia-led demonstrations
2011 Bahraini uprising
The 2011 Bahraini uprising, sometimes called the February 14 Revolution is a series of demonstrations, amounting to a sustained campaign of civil resistance, in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain...
in the Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
archipelago, but has virtually ignored President Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000. Al-Assad was elected in 2000, re-elected in 2007, unopposed each time.- Early Life :...
's violent suppression of protests during the uprising
2011 Syrian uprising
The 2011 Syrian uprising is an ongoing internal conflict occurring in Syria. Protests started on 26 January 2011, and escalated into an uprising by 15 March 2011...
in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and according to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government, has possibly provided aid to suppressing the protests.
Conversely, while Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
staked out its place as a primary backer of the attempted revolution against Gaddafi and a "key ally" of the partially recognized National Transitional Council
National Transitional Council
The National Transitional Council of Libya , sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, the Interim National Council, or the Libyan National Council,...
, the provisional government of the self-declared Libyan Republic, it steadfastly supported the supranational Gulf Co-operation Council in its military intervention to quell protests in neighboring Bahrain, contributing troops to the Peninsula Shield Force mission there.
The government of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
received praise from the U.S. government for its response to major protests
2011 Moroccan protests
The 2011 Moroccan protests are a series of demonstrations across Morocco and the Moroccan-controlled Western Saharan territory which began on 20 February 2011 and are influenced by other protests in the region.-Origin:...
despite numerous deaths there as well as in protests in the Moroccan-administered "Southern Provinces
Southern Provinces
The Southern Provinces or Moroccan Sahara are the terms used by Morocco for Western Sahara, in reference to the part of Western Sahara that lies to the west of the Moroccan Berm...
" in Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
, though the U.S. condemned the governments of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
for their actions in dealing with demonstrators. However, it has stopped short of calling for regime change in Bahrain alone among those states.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
was one of the first Arab
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
countries to publicly condemn the Syrian government over its reaction to the uprising in that country, with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. When Crown Prince, he governed Saudi Arabia as regent from 1998 to 2005...
giving a televised speech shortly after midnight on 8 August to announce the recall of its ambassador from Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
and warn authorities to institute major reforms and stop all violence. However, it was also the largest contributor of troops to GCC operations to help suppress the Bahraini uprising, as well as a vocal supporter of Bahrain's embattled monarchy amidst protests and violence in Manama
Manama
Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 155,000 people.Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population...
. Saudi Arabia also supported a GCC-sponsored transition agreement to bring peace to Yemen and phase out the incumbent government there, which was repeatedly rebuffed despite Saudi pressure. After an attempt on Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Field Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh is the first President of the Republic of Yemen. Saleh previously served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1978 until 1990, at which time he assumed the office of chairman of the Presidential Council of a post-unification Yemen. He is the...
's life, Saudi authorities allowed the wounded leader to undergo two months of hospital treatment in Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
, the Saudi Arabian capital. However, one Saudi government official told reporters weeks later that the government would not allow Saleh to return to Yemen, and as of August 2011, he remains in Riyadh.
Criticism of responses
Some scholars and pundits, including Slavoj ŽižekSlavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist working in the traditions of Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He has made contributions to political theory, film theory, and theoretical psychoanalysis....
and Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk is an English writer and journalist from Maidstone, Kent. As Middle East correspondent of The Independent, he has primarily been based in Beirut for more than 30 years. He has published a number of books and has reported on the United States's war in Afghanistan and the same country's...
, have argued that the range of international reactions to the various protests, uprisings, and revolutions associated with the Arab Spring demonstrate hypocrisy on the part of governments in the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
and elsewhere. Žižek, a Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n political theorist, charged that the "western liberal reaction to the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia frequently shows hypocrisy and cynicism".
When asked if he considered Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
, the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian president, to be an "authoritarian ruler" prior to the popular movement that ousted him from power, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
replied that he tends "not to use labels for folks", called him a "stalwart ally in many respects to the United States", and claimed that Mubarak "has been a force for stability and good in the region", something American journalist Jeremy Scahill
Jeremy Scahill
Jeremy Scahill is an American investigative journalist and author whose work focuses on the use of private military companies. He is the author of the best-selling book Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, winner of a George Polk Book Award. He also serves as a...
criticized. Scahill also claimed that "the day before US missiles began raining down on ... Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
... security forces under the control of Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
's US-backed president, Ali Abdullah Saleh
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Field Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh is the first President of the Republic of Yemen. Saleh previously served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1978 until 1990, at which time he assumed the office of chairman of the Presidential Council of a post-unification Yemen. He is the...
, massacred more than fifty people who were participating in an overwhelmingly peaceful protest". The Obama administration has since called for Saleh to hand over power to his vice president and commit to a transition to plural democracy for Yemen, but its comparative sluggishness in supporting the Yemeni protest movement versus its swift backing of Libyan protesters and rebel fighters faced some criticism. American academic and investigative journalist Nir Rosen
Nir Rosen
Nir Rosen is an American journalist and chronicler of the Iraq War, who resides in Lebanon. Rosen writes on current and international affairs.- Journalistic and academic work :...
also criticized the U.S. government for more than doubling military assistance to Yemen between 2009 and 2010.
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n journalist and documentarian John Pilger
John Pilger
John Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist and documentary maker, based in London. He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US....
called U.S. Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Hillary Clinton's condemnation of "governments that arrested protestors and crushed free expression" a "spectacular hypocrisy", claiming that "her government was planning to close down those parts of the internet that encouraged dissent and truth-telling".
During international operations
2011 military intervention in Libya
On 19 March 2011, a multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which was taken in response to events during the 2011 Libyan civil war...
in Libya, Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
journalist Patrick Cockburn
Patrick Cockburn
Patrick Cockburn is an Irish journalist who has been a Middle East correspondent since 1979 for the Financial Times and, presently, The Independent....
called NATO's concern for Libyans "deeply hypocritical ... when they ignore or promote savage repression in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
". Veteran British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
journalist Robert Fisk also condemned the relative lack of concern on the part of Western leaders over the security crackdown in Bahrain. After British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, referring to the UK's support for the military intervention in Libya, stated that "just because we can't intervene everywhere, doesn't mean we shouldn't intervene somewhere", British commentator Johann Hari
Johann Hari
Johann Hari is an award winning British journalist who has been a columnist at The Independent, the The Huffington Post, and contributed to several other publications. In 2011, Hari was accused of plagiarism; he subsequently was suspended from The Independent and surrendered his 2008 Orwell Prize...
argued, "While 'we' are intervening to cause horrific harm to civilians in much of the world, it's plainly false to claim to be driven by a desire to prevent other people behaving very like us".
American philosopher and counterculture commentator Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
claimed, "The U.S. and its allies will do anything they can to prevent authentic democracy in the Arab world. The reason is very simple. Across the region, an overwhelming majority of the population regards the United States as the main threat to their interests."
Western leaders were not the only targets of rebuke from commentators for their reactions to the Arab Spring. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah
Hassan Nasrallah
Hasan Nasrallah, became the third Secretary General of the Lebanese political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah after Israel assassinated the previous leader, Abbas al-Musawi, in 1992. Hezbollah in its entirety is considered a terrorist organization by The United States, the Netherlands,...
's response to the uprisings also came under criticism, with Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian academic Hamid Dabashi
Hamid Dabashi
Hamid Dabashi born 1951 in Ahvaz is an Iranian-American Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York City.He is the author of over twenty books...
penning an op-ed for Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
in which he called Nasrallah a "once mighty warrior being bypassed by the force of history", accusing him of hypocrisy for supporting Shia protesters in Egypt and Bahrain but backing the "murderous" Shia government in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
against peaceful demonstrators. Nasrallah, Dabashi claimed, had started out as a supporter of the Arab Spring when it appeared it would affect only allies of the West, but was deliberately silent on protests, including the Iranian protests
2011 Iranian protests
The 2011 Iranian protests are a series of demonstrations across Iran which began on 14 February 2011, called "The Day of Rage". The protests followed the 2009–2010 Iranian election protests and were influenced by other concurrent protests in the region...
, that sought to topple anti-Western governments.
British journalist Brian Whitaker
Brian Whitaker
Brian Whitaker has been a journalist for the British newspaper The Guardian since 1987 and its Middle East editor from 2000-2007. He is currently an editor on the paper's "Comment Is Free". He also writes articles for Guardian Unlimited, the internet edition of the paper...
said King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia "[betrayed] more than a little irony" in his condemnation of Bashar al-Assad's regime, considering Saudi Arabia's dearth of political freedom. He concluded that the Saudi monarchy's positioning on the Arab Spring protests was part of ongoing efforts to outmanoeuvre and isolate its traditional rival Iran, an ally of Assad, as well as to limit the actual amount of political liberalisation occurring in the region. Whitaker criticised the Saudi-sponsored GCC initiative in Yemen, claiming it "was meant to prevent a genuine revolution, not help to accomplish it", and called Saudi Arabia's actions amidst the regional unrest a "monarchical insurance scheme" evident in its intervention to support the Bahraini monarchy.
World economy
As many of the world's major oil producing countries are in the Middle East, the unrest has caused a rise in oil prices. The International Monetary FundInternational Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
accordingly revised its forecast for 2011 oil prices to reflect a higher price, and also reported that food prices could also increase. Additionally, concerns about Egypt's Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
had raised shipping and oil prices.
The World Bank's June 2011 Global Economic Prospects report estimated that the turmoil may reduce growth in the region by 1 percent or more, with countries such as Egypt and Tunisia registering growth rates 3 or more percentage points lower than what they would have been in the absence of the crises. Overall GDP in Egypt is projected to rise 1.0 percent in 2011.
Media coverage
Al JazeeraAl Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
won praise for its coverage of the protests, angering several governments. United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
remarked, "Al Jazeera has been the leader in that they are literally changing people's minds and attitudes. And like it or hate it, it is really effective". She also stated that "viewership of Al Jazeera is going up in the United States because it's real news. You may not agree with it, but you feel like you're getting real news around the clock instead of a million commercials..."
The use of social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
has been extensive. As one Egyptian activist tweeted during the protests, "We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world". Internet censorship
Internet censorship
Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of government or on their own initiative...
has also been a factor, and entire nation states were taken almost completely offline.
In an attempt to quantify the likelihood of regime change in Arab World countries following the protests, The Economist Intelligence Unit created its "Shoe-Thrower's index". The name is derived from shoeing
Shoeing
Shoeing, throwing shoes, showing the sole of one's shoe or using shoes to insult are forms of protest in many parts of the world.Incidents where shoes were thrown at political figures have taken place in Australia, India, Ireland, Israel, Hong Kong, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and most notably,...
: throwing shoes, showing the sole of one's shoe, or using shoes to insult, all of which are forms of protest primarily associated with the Arab world. According to their index, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
has the highest likelihood of a revolution, whereas Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
has the lowest. The index factors in the number of years the current ruler has been in power, the percentage of the population consisting of young people, per capita GDP, democracy index
Democracy Index
The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit that claims to measure the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 165 are UN member states...
, political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
, and freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
. BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
used its own "Unrest Index" in its analysis of the protests.
Alen Mattich of the Wall Street Journal created the "Revolting Index" to rate the likelihood of revolts by nation based on "social unfairness, propensity to revolt, and a trigger". Mattich readily admits, however, that "the methodology is crude. There's been no econometric work done". The index listed a number of African nations towards the top of the list as well as some Asian nations.