Abstract
This article examines the ongoing Arab Spring uprisings. The Arab Spring is characterized as a fundamental challenge to the postcolonial political order of the Arab world. The postcolonial Arab world has been defined by its oppressive nature and its subjugation within the international system. This autocratic and peripheral order represents the political legacy of colonial rule, where the postcolonial regimes inherited and refined the repressive techniques of the colonial regimes while, owing to international developments, reinforcing their subjugated status within the international system. The Arab Spring has, thus, represented an attempt to chart an independent path in Arab politics, marked by efforts towards democracy and civil rights. The successes and failures of the Arab Spring are critically evaluated, paying special attention to the role played by Islamist political actors. Beyond an evaluation of the domestic factors behind the various protests, the regional significance of the uprisings is evaluated, providing discussion of counterrevolutionary forces and political-sectarian developments.
Highlights
This article examines the ongoing Arab Spring uprisings
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries have retained their role as the defenders of status quo, while representing the countervailing forces is the ideologically and organizationally diffuse “Arab Spring,” whose politics range from nationalism, to liberalism, to Islamism, and beyond
Opposition movements were active across the region, the uncivil Arab state remained the supreme authority, restricting the activity of independent political movements
Summary
While modern technologies (satellite TV, social networking websites) have been prominently featured in the Arab Spring protests, the technological aspect of the protests should not be overstated. The difficulty of the autocratic regimes to block al-Jazeera’s broadcasts (owing to the nature of satellite technology) has allowed al-Jazeera to report the crimes of the region’s dictators to the peoples of the Arab world and beyond While mediums such as Twitter/Facebook are limited to a cutting-edge middle/upper class, satellite television broadcasts have projected the protest narrative to the masses, across all strata of society. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries have retained their role as the defenders of status quo, while representing the countervailing forces is the ideologically and organizationally diffuse “Arab Spring,” whose politics range from nationalism, to liberalism, to Islamism, and beyond On another level, a second regional struggle has boiled over, with Saudi Arabia and its allies struggling against Iranian regional influence. The conflict has accelerated, with over 60,000 reportedly having been killed (Enders, 2013), and the prospects for a peaceful (i.e. non-sectarian) post-Assad outcome unlikely
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