The political climate of the modern world continues to experience a series of changes as governments and people seek to shift from the driving forces of the past and embrace the future. The unfolding events during the push for the desired change are often significantly consequential to the social, economic, and political aspects of the people in a particular country. Nations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) of the Arab world are examples of states where citizens have been pushing for change in the last decade with revolting global effects. Since 2010, countries in the mentioned region have experienced political and economic turmoil that is fuelled by social factors such as the demonstrations of the citizenry. The objective of this study is to explore the leading causes of the political unrest in MENA, also known as the Arab Spring. The research will first present a background of the source of political revolts, the countries involved, and the rationale behind the movements. The study seeks to advance the argument that a bad economy and social media influence are the primary factors causing the recent political upheavals in the Arab world. For the sake of clarity, the research will use Egypt as the case study to evaluate the various concepts under review.
Background
The Arab Spring refers to a series of seismic events from the MENA region denoting a revolutionary tide of violent and non-violent demonstrations, protests and oppositions to the authorities exemplified by riots and protracted civil wars that started on December 18th, 2010 (Abdelsalam, 2015). Various researchers have differing perspectives on the primary cause of the political climate in MENA, a factor that often causes a change in the term of reference for the developments in the Arab world. For example, in his reference to the events as an Arab uprising, Chalcraft (2015) contends that frustrations in the manner and ways that the authorities run administrative affairs was the leading cause of the political turmoil. However, Ramadan (2012) and Pollack (2014) are more inclined to the religious role of the Islam faith in their reference to the revolution and protests as an Arab awakening. Regardless of the definition, there is a consensus in the existing literature that the citizenry as opposed to the government due to the economic hardships. If the primary consideration is the build of anger and frustrations in the Arab country, then it can be argued that the protests in Tunisia enthused the rest of MENA countries, causing an Arab uprising based on a combination of social, economic and political factors (Idris, 2016).
In his analysis of the regularly ignored dimensions of the Arab uprising, Ali (2013) contends that the events in MENA were conceptually caused by a mixture of past development in the Arab world, present reality and the future implications of the current situation. The past western imperialism was critical to the events in the Arab world, such as the drawing of borders that conveniently caused the transference of revolutionary desire among the MENA nations (Ali, 2013). Since the cold war, western governments have always attempted to control the political climate in the Arab world for personal gains, primarily the control of oil. For example, through the United Nations, powerful western countries made the promotion of democracy a thematic priority in Egypt since 1998 through decentralization and offering support for the civil society (Turan, 2018). Turan (2018) and Ali (2013) agree that such past developments lay the foundation for the uprisings since 2011.
The present globalization of politics, social life, and economic activities are also a conceptual cause of the Arab Spring. According to Ali (2013), the past western imperialism was again witnessed in 2011 when the US and her allies rallied behind the citizenry pushing for the ouster of most authoritarian leaders in the MENA region. In his analysis of the Arab Spring, Selim (2013) notes that the demonstrations were a strategic surprise to the US, especially since the US was satisfied with the political nature of Egypt before 2010 with regards to its interests in the region. However, as the uprisings became a threat to western imperialism as well as the possibility of promoting the global specter of terrorism and security, the western countries joined the fray to steer the developments towards causes of action that best suit the global interest. Finally, there is an underlying fear of the future of MENA countries if the countries continue with dictatorial governments (Jones, 2012). The following section of the study exclusively examines economic and social media effects of the Arab Spring.
The Economic Effect of Political Upheavals in the Arab Spring
The above background has provided different references to the political upheavals in the Arab world based on the cause of the protests and revolutions. There is a consensus in the literature that a bad economy and its ensuing effects were the primary cause of the uprising (Jones, 2012; Ali, 2013; Selim, 2013). In the same manner the December 18th, 2010 demonstrations took place in Tunisia, the people of Egypt took to the streets on January 25th, 2011 with the primary grievances as high unemployment, corruption, and inhibition of many political freedoms (McKay, 2012). Notably, although an economic failure of the governments was the genesis of most protests, unemployment was the leading factor due to the frustrations of the youth. The Egyptian revolution bore a little resemblance to Tunisia in the swiftness of dislodging their political dictators for having the same driving grievance, unemployment as the exemplifying factor of a bad economy (Bayat, 2012). While the Tunisians took a month to dismantle the dictatorship, Egyptians ousted Mubarak in just eighteen days (Bayat, 2012). Such resemblance for two different countries shows that the pain of unemployment among the youth and the general population was a massive driving force behind the Arab Spring.
According to the United Nations Development Program, the unemployment rate in Egypt at the time the revolution started was at 8-11 %, which was relatively high considering the state of governance and the economy (Puspitasari, 2017). Under the dictatorial Mubarak regime, the high unemployment caused a rift between the economic power of the rich and the poor, which eventually exploded into a state of unrest that caused the revolution. McKay (2012) notes that the general estimates for unemployment in the region were 20%, a factor that surprised the international community when Egypt revolted because it always exhibited an image of a country under good governance. Bakr (2013) notes that the revolution did not help the country because the 2012 estimates showed that 9.7 % of the population was unemployed, with most of them being young people with university degrees. Such figures confirm the assertions of McKay (2012) that besides Tunisia, the uprising Arab countries did not effectively revolt towards actions that would lead to economic redemption, which exemplifies the current upheavals in the region.
Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply
Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?
Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.
Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?
- Plagiarism free papers
- Timely delivery
- Any deadline
- Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
- Subject-relevant academic writer
- Adherence to paper instructions
- Ability to tackle bulk assignments
- Reasonable prices
- 24/7 Customer Support
- Get superb grades consistently
Online Academic Help With Different Subjects
Literature
Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.
Finance
Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.
Computer science
Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!
Psychology
While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.
Engineering
Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.
Nursing
In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.
Sociology
Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.
Business
We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!
Statistics
We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.
Law
Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.
What discipline/subjects do you deal in?
We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.
Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?
Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.
What if I don’t like the paper?
There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.
Reasons being:
- When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
- We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.
In the event that you don’t like your paper:
- The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
- We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
- Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.
Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?
Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.
What if the paper is plagiarized?
We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
When will I get my paper?
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
Will anyone find out that I used your services?
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
How our Assignment Help Service Works
1. Place an order
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
2. Pay for the order
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
3. Track the progress
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
4. Download the paper
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!
