Arab Spring Revolutions Research Articles

The regional challenges affecting Kuwait’s national security

Purpose This study aims to scrutinize and analyze the regional challenges facing Kuwait and their impact on Kuwait’s national security since the outbreak of Arab Spring revolutions in 2011. These challenges are as follows: the Iranian threat, the Arab Spring revolutions and the recent Gulf crisis with Qatar. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts national interest approach, which focuses on a state’s economic, military and cultural objectives. According to this approach, a state seeks to achieve its own national interests. There are multiple national interests, but the ultimate goal is the survival and security of the state. Findings The study concludes that the Gulf countries, including Kuwait, are facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the dire consequences of the Arab Spring revolutions, the control of Houthi group on Yemen’s institutions and the repercussions of negotiations between 5 + 1 group (Russia, China, France, Britain, the USA + German) and Iran on the Iranian nuclear program. These developments are not in the interest of the Gulf countries in general and Kuwait in particular. The study recommends that Kuwait must adopt an external strategy based on achieving the regional balance with the countries of the region and dealing with different challenges according to its national interest. Originality/value The importance of the study stems from the fact that the Arab region witnessed many developments at the political, economic and social levels since the outbreak of the Arab Spring revolutions. These developments posed many threats to Arab countries such as the spread of terrorism, religious extremism, terrorist organizations and non-state actors. They also became a key determinant of foreign policy. Kuwait was affected by these developments. In addition, it faces threats affecting its national security such as the Iranian threat, the Arab Spring revolutions and the Gulf crisis with Qatar. The study addresses these threats and how Kuwait, as a small state, has dealt with such enormous ones.

Improvising Peace: Towards New Social Contracts in Tunisia

ABSTRACTEight years after the Arab Spring revolutions, Tunisia's state and citizens are crafting an increasingly resilient national social contract, despite setbacks. This case study examines what is driving Tunisia's efforts, focusing in particular on key transition initiatives – including a national dialogue and a forward-looking constitution adopted by broad consensus, following nation-wide consultations. The case examines how informed and empowered Tunisians built these structures to leverage the inherent resilience capacities of the people, which developed throughout state and civil society formation, women's movements, labour movements, and civic education. The research suggests that two issues that gave rise to the revolution have remained particular challenges for efforts to mediate and address conflict: political and social polarisation and lack of livelihoods. It reveals how Tunisians are calling for more inclusion and institutionalised citizen engagement as a means to address them. Conclusions point to how post-revolution, democratisation gains as well as values of compromise, tolerance, dialogue appear to be immunising Tunisia against irreparable reversals and are laying the foundations for sustainable democratic peace.

The Game-based Metaphorical Representations of the Arab Spring Revolutions in Journalistic Political Discourse

This paper explores how the Arab Spring Revolutions (ASRs) are metaphorically represented in journalistic discourse in a way that highlights or hides specific ideologies related to the political events and actors associated with the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions over three years (2011-2013). Drawing on Charteris-Black's (2004) corpus-based approach of Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA), the main political events and actors represented metaphorically in the corpus data have been identified, explained and interpreted at different levels of semantic, pragmatic and cognitive analysis. The present study has reached three major findings. First, various source domains were manipulated to report different facets of the ASRs, while the source domain of games was the most dominant. Second, the corpus proved to be textually coherent based on the conceptual key THE ARAB SPRING REVOLUTIONS ARE GAMES which was built around the image schema of competition. Finally, gamification involved three basic scenarios: the first is a general frame of a game; the second clusters games into individual versus team games, and bodily-oriented versus mentally-oriented games; the final scenario represents games as a war. All ideologically-based conceptual metaphors constructed within the frame of gamification are typically Western. Arab Spring Revolutions (ASRs), conceptual metaphor, Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA), game, ideology, corpus

Comparative analysis of the prerequisites of the political processes of the “Arab Spring”

The article discusses the causes of the “Arab Spring”, and the factors influencing the escalation of the political crisis in Arab countries. As a result of a deep socio-political crisis in 2011–2013, in some countries of Middle East and North Africa there was a change of political regimes. Despite the preconditions of destabilization of authoritarian regimes, their forced change led to a crisis in some Arab states. The Middle East and North Africa took part in a forced revolutionary transformation of political regimes, called the Arab Spring. The growth of protests in the region is due to internal and external reasons, and in each country they depend on the specific socio-political, economic, religious situation and the peculiarities of the historical development of states. The consequences of these protests have led to destabilization in some countries of the Middle East. The purpose of this article is a comparative analysis of the main parameters of the Arab Spring Revolution. The methodological basis of the study is a systematic approach to the analysis of the complex and controversial interaction of economic, social and political processes. The theoretical significance of the study is determined by a comprehensive study of the causes and consequences of revolutionary events. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of using the results of work when writing textbooks for students and undergraduates of the specialty “International Relations and Regional Studies”, as well as for preparing reference books on political processes in the Middle East. Key words: Arab spring, authoritarian regime, the democratic forces, the escalation of the crisis, geopolitical dominance, transformation of the regime, the concept of modernization, the people’s power.

The impact of Arab Revolution on the security of the Arabian Gulf

Purpose This study aims to analyze the impact of Arab Revolution on the Arabian Gulf security by applying on Yemeni Revolution. This can be achieved by analyzing the threat of Arab Spring Revolutions to the national security of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries after the breakout of demonstrations and protests in some of the member states. In addition to its analysis of threat of the Regional Security of the Gulf as a result of Yemeni Revolution and Civil War and Iranian intervention to support Houthis within light of regional anarchy and security competition according to the Neorealism and how the GCC Countries face such threats. Design/methodology/approach The study depended on the historical methodology to track the developments of some events related to the Gulf Security and crisis in Yemen. Moreover, it used the analytical approach to analyze the impact of Arab Revolutions and Yemeni Civil War on the Arab Gulf Security. In addition, it depended on the realistic approach to explain the security state at the national and regional level of the Arab Gulf countries within light of regional anarchy, security competition and Iranian support to Houthis “Non-State Actors” (Kenneth Waltz), as well as the offensive realism (John Mearsheimer). Findings The Arab Revolutions had an effect on the national security of GCC countries according to the Neorealism due to the breakout of demonstrations and protests in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Sultanate of Oman which reached to the degree of threatening the existence of the state as in Bahrain. The Gulf Regional Security is influenced by Revolution and Civil War in Yemen as a result of that Iranian support to Houthis within light of security competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia, leading to the threat of the Arabian Gulf Security as Yemen is the southern gate to the GCC Countries and having joint borders with Saudi Arabia and Sultanate of Oman. Moreover, the GCC countries dealt with that threat individually, such as, performing internal reforms, or collectively through using military force, such as Bahrain and Yemen (Offensive Realism). Originality/value This study is an introduction to explain the Arab Spring Revolutions, conflict in Yemen and its threat to the Arab Gulf Security according to the Neorealism based on that the GCC countries sought to keep its existence and sovereignty in confrontation to the demonstrations and internal protests and to keep the regional security in confrontation to the threats of neighboring countries such as the Civil War in Yemen and the Iranian Support to Houthis in light of the regional anarchy.

The impact of political reform on the stability of the state of Kuwait since 2010

Purpose The study aims to deal with three theoretical approaches to answer the research question: Does political reform in rentier States (Kuwait as a model) lead to political stability? The first approach: Following the steps of political reform in rentier States leads eventually to political stability. The second approach: Political stability in rentier States does not necessarily lead to political reform. The third approach: In rentier States, the decisive factor in interpreting the correlation between political reform and political stability requires explaining other intermediary factors. Design/methodology/approach David Easton’s input-output model: Easton defined the political system as the interactions related to the authoritarian allocation of values in society, that is, the distribution of resources by decisions adopted by individuals, and provided a framework for analysis of the political system in which it sees an integrated circuit of a dynamic nature that starts with inputs and outputs feedback, input and output. Inputs refer to the effects of the environment on the system. Outputs are the effects of the system on the environment, which are the decisions and policies taken by the system to meet the demands. Reverse feedback is the flow of information to the system about the results of its actions, the results of its decisions and policies. Generate new inputs in the form of a demand or support, and the system’s feedback feeds a kind of movement. Findings It can be said that the future of the rentier state is particularly dangerous in the Arab countries where the problem today is the sharp drop in oil prices, which requires the need to enter into the stage of major transformations and work to bring about fundamental changes and enter into radical constitutional, economic, political and social reforms before turning them from the state rent to countries that lack political stability. Research limitations/implications The aim of this research is to present a theoretical study of political reform. The study began to consolidate the concept of political reform, which was and still is the goal of many political and social reform leaders and movements, in addition to being a major topic in political theories. Reform can be carried out by violence and by peaceful change. In any case, reform remains a humanitarian need that cannot be ignored or avoided, because the alternative is worsening and deteriorating political and social conditions. Practical implications The Arab Spring revolutions set many challenges for the Arab countries. These countries had to start political reforms. The State of Kuwait was one of the most important rentier countries that, after the Arab Spring revolutions, was concerned with ensuring that individuals and groups exercised their political rights through political participation in decision-making. It guarantees the human existence of society and protects it through the law and its legislation, and grants rights and freedoms and does not oppose it. Social implications Political reforms lead to accommodating the demands of the opposition, increasing the political participation of citizens, activating the political role of women, activating the role of civil society and increasing political mobility. Originality/value The importance of the research paper is to emphasize the term rentier state and confirm the importance of reform in rentier countries and the paper asks whether the expansion of political rights, citizenship and participation will lead to stability or instability in these countries.

The incumbent, challenger, and population during revolution and civil war

We consider revolutions and civil war involving an incumbent, a challenger, and the population. Revolutions are classified into eight outcomes. In four outcomes incumbent repression occurs (viewed as providing sub-threshold benefits such as public goods to the population). Accommodation occurs in the other four outcomes (benefits provision above a threshold). The incumbent and challenger fight each other. The incumbent may win and retain power or else lose, thereby causing standoff or coalition. In a standoff, which is costly, no one backs down and uncertainty exists about who is in power. In a coalition, which is less costly, the incumbent and challenger cooperate, compromise, and negotiate their differences. If the population successfully revolts against the incumbent, the challenger replaces the incumbent. Eighty-seven revolutions during 1961–2011, including the recent Arab spring revolutions, are classified into the eight outcomes. When repressive, the incumbent loses 46 revolutions, remains in power through 21 revolutions, and builds a coalition after 12 revolutions. When accommodative, the incumbent loses seven revolutions and builds a coalition after one revolution. The 87 revolutions are classified across geographic regions and by time-period.

The disparities of supra regional interactions and the limits movement of International actors An evaluation vision for the future of Middle East

The article had been tackled the current international community which suffered from the chaos of conflicts and wars that have resulted from successive crises ; because of the hard circumstances which seemed noticeable in the Middle East and elsewhere .
 So that we couldn’t see any development in the re- production of effective means and guarantors for the security and stability of the dynamics of the supra-regional interactions which were moving by the divergences of interests and its contradictions and disparities alike ; but sometimes we found many kinds of conflicts and wars that were administered by proxy. And from another hand, we witnessed another patterns of international and direct regional intervention , So the last form of wars , as such as we found a prevalent interpolation inside the Syrian war, the Yemeni war, and the Libyan war and so on .
 The article had researched about the fears and warnings of supra regional great-powers (Russia, China, etc.) to limit the ineffectiveness and effectiveness of international variables on the level of international politics for controlling over the stability of the Middle East consequently. Especially after the events as known as the Arab spring revolutions since 2011, owing to the spread of a new phase of intense rivalries that confirmed the oscillating probabilities between the conflict and cooperation alike .
 All of these developments led to the loss of opportunities for cooperation in the final outcome due to the delay in settling these types of conflicts and wars as result of the imbalance within the form of alliances between the powerful actors (the powers of the emerging regional and the international actors alike), which seek to secure its influence even at the expense of the stability in Middle east (The reality of political settlements that came from outside the frontiers). Furthermore , The strategic orientations remain aligned in a parallel with the political alliances (the Iranian-Turkish regional role supported by Russia) to be done in front of the regional role of the Arab Gulf states that supported by the United States of America .
 Finally , the frameworks of the cooperation and conflict began to discuss broadly for the future of the Middle East, where the interests of the superpowers were intertwined with the interests of the supra regional powers, without making any significant progress towards solving the recent problems and pending crises that threaten the security of the region as thoroughly . And for dealing with the most dangerous issues and matters of the whole region , as such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and how to rebuilding the peace within societies in the post wars period that erupted ultimately in the middle east region .

The impact of inflation on the Libyan economy after the Arab Spring Revolution during the period (2011-2018)

The impact of inflation on the Libyan economy after the Arab Spring Revolution during the period (2011-2018)

The Jihad post-Arab Spring: Contextualising Islamic radicalism in Egypt and Tunisia

This article examines the rise in jihadi activity within North Africa in recent years and aims to answer two fundamental questions: first, how have local and foreign jihadi groups capitalised on the unique domestic contexts in Tunisia and Egypt in the aftermath of the Arab Spring revolutions to advance their insurgencies? Next, what are the key factors conducive to extremism in both countries that have facilitated this? This study highlights the importance of contending with extremism with respect to the differentiated socio-historical, political and economic circumstances of each country. From a broader perspective, several trends common in the rise of extremism in both countries are identified. First, there is a tendency of extremism to consolidate in proportion to the amount of institutional void. Next, conditions of poverty often supply futile ground for the entrenchment of terrorism; in particular, the study highlights on how jihadi groups have made a concerted effort to damage the economic interests of each country. Finally, the presence of historical grievances provides a conducive environment for extremism. In light of the threat of cell dispersion following the recent defeats faced by ISIS in Syria and Iraq, an understanding of jihadi operations in North Africa becomes increasingly crucial.

“The War Took Us Backwards”

AbstractIf political activities (demonstration, revolution, war) can be understood as forms of ritual performance in which temporary social hegemonic inversions typically are followed by competing efforts to restore structure or define a new structure, then under what conditions would they offer potential for changes in family dynamics and gender roles? The past few years in Yemen have witnessed extraordinary political and socioeconomic turbulence, from the 2011 Arab Spring revolution to the 2015 brutal war. Yemeni families have been significantly impacted in myriad ways, including displacement, family separation, poverty, violence, unemployment, sectarian strife, disruption of education, and mental illness. Men and women have demonstrated a high level of public activism during the Arab Spring and the war, further altering family dynamics and the gendered social tapestry, in a highly patriarchal country. Social “disorder,” including modification of gender roles, is often challenged by those desiring to restore “order,” the “traditional” family structure, and patriarchy. This study analyzes gendered dimensions of the “Yemen Spring” and the subsequent war, with a particular focus on the link between gendered family dynamics and the sociopolitical landscape, also considering the role religion and religious groups play.

Advancing the social psychology of rapid societal change.

In this introduction to the special section on rapid societal change, we highlight the challenges posed by rapid societal changes for social psychology and introduce the seven papers brought together in this special section. Rapid societal changes are qualitative transformations within a society that alter the prevailing societal state. Recent such changes include the election of right-wing populist governments, the Arab Spring revolutions, and devastating civil wars in the Middle East. Conceptually, such events require consideration of how societal-level events relate to more proximal psychological processes to bring about the often abrupt, non-linear (as opposed to incremental and linear) nature of rapid societal change. They also require empirical approaches that allow such qualitative transformations to be captured and studied. This is true both in terms of directly addressing rapidly unfolding societal events in research, and in terms of how rapid, discontinuous change can be analysed. The papers in the special section help to address these issues through introducing novel theoretical and methodological approaches to studying rapid societal change, offering multiple perspectives on how macro-level changes can both create, and be created by, micro-level social psychological phenomena.

EFEKTIVITAS SANKSI DEWAN KEAMANAN PERSERIKATAN BANGSA-BANGSA TERHADAP KONFLIK BERSENJATA DI SURIAH

As a soverign state in the Middle East, Syria has received badly effect of Arab Spring revolution. Thousand of students launched demonstration claiming Bashar Al-Assad to step down. In response to it, Bashar Al-Assad attacked the prodemocracy students by arresting and torturing them. This arms conflict has not only brought many civilians as victims of civil war but involved some other foreign states as well. To avoid matters worse, Security Council of United Nations has issued a Resolution Number 2328/2016 to give sanctions affirming Bashar-Assad to have violated international humanitarian law. The question comes up whether or not this resolution could present the effectiveness of the sanctions. This research has revealed that the Security Council Resolution is effective and Syria has complied with it in line with the international law.

Political change and informality

AbstractThis paper examines informality during the political and economic turmoil that accompanied the Arab Spring revolution in Egypt. The paper focuses on unprotected employment and the extent to which it changed by educational level immediately after the January Uprising of 2011. We find that over time and particularly after the revolution, informal employment has increased for both high‐ and low‐educated workers, albeit through different paths: high‐educated workers were more likely to be stuck in informality, while low‐educated formal workers were more likely to lose their contracts. The increase in informal employment in the wake of the Arab Spring is more pronounced for the high‐educated. The results suggest a high level of rigidity in the Egyptian labour market, even in the wake of the Arab Spring.

The attitude of the Arab League from the Arab Spring Revolutions in North Africa.

Arab League position form a milestone of the revolution in the Arab region, especially in North Africa, was unsatisfying, blurred and hesitant in its direction to what is called variables (revolutions of the Arab Spring). The paper is divided to four axes and the conclusions presented. the first axis deals with the Arab League's position on the revolution in Tunisia, e second axis is on the position of the Arab League in the revolution in Egypt occur, and the third axis is the Arab League's position on the revolution in Libya, finally, an analytical vision on the Arab League's position on the Arab revolution in North Africa is elaborated.

Institutional Discontinuity and Business Creation in MENA Region countries

What happens to entrepreneurship and attitudes towards entrepreneurship when institutions change due to conflict (e.g. revolutions, uprisings, wars, etc.)? We explore this question by investigating how recent institutional changes related to the Arab Spring revolutions influence decisions to start a business in Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt. The Arab Spring Revolutions created a change in the political and economic fabric in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Thus, the choice of these countries is primarily based on the recent political and economic changes that have taken place since the revolutions started in 2010. We utilize the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Adult Population Survey (APS) data for the following years 5 years: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Using multinomial logistic regressions, we measure the relationship between being an entrepreneur and personal characteristics of individuals in the sample post change associated with the Arab Spring. Keywords: GEM; Institutional Discontinuity/Change; Arab Spring; Personal Characteristics

Googling Investor’s Sentiment: Powerful Measure in Conventional and Islamic MENA Financial Markets

ABSTRACTThe objective of this paper is to investigate whether investors' sentiment measured by the Internet search behavior constitutes a valid measure of investor’s sentiment on Islamic and conventional indexes of emerging and frontier financial markets in MENA countries. In fact, we examine the relation between googling investor’s sentiment and monthly Islamic and conventional index returns during the period 2004–2016. Using the Dynamic Conditional Correlation, the BEKK-GARCH and the wavelet coherence models, we confirm that googling investor’s sentiment is a perfect indicator of investor’s sentiment measure. Indeed, we find that this measure has the ability to reflect major events such as subprime financial crisis, oil crisis and Arab spring revolution affecting MENA Islamic and conventional index markets. Our finding indicates that investors can use googling investor’s sentiment as an indicator to predict returns and volatility of emerging and frontier markets since it reflects the behavior and emotions of investors in MENA financial markets.

ISIS

Fawaz Gerges identifies four factors which were crucial to the Islamic State’s(IS) expansion across Iraq and Syria in his well-researched and insightfulaccount of the history of the group and its individual members. He writesthat IS itself can and should be considered the direct progeny of al-Qaedain Iraq (AQI), which is clear for those who trace the organization’s lineage,and argues that the fragmentation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion allowedthe group to flourish (first as AQI and then as IS). The other two factorshe identifies are concerned with other countries: Gerges contends that thegroup would not have been able to carry out its headline-grabbing militaryconquests without the safe refuge afforded by the collapse of Syria, and thatthe military gains it made in part due to said collapse could not have beentenable were it not for the derailment of the Arab Spring revolutions duringthe first few years of the decade ...

التعليم والربيع العربي: المقاومة، والاصلاح، والديموقراطية

The Arab Spring has brought about major changes in the Arab region in many aspects, including education. The researchers aim to present the state of education after the Arab Spring revolutions and compare it with what was before these revolutions. The book has been divided into three main sections. The first section discussed the state of education before the Arab Spring by highlighting some of the teachers’ practices in the classroom. The second section presents some calls for reforming youth education in countries such as Egypt, Yemen, and Tunisia. The last section, which contains three chapters, explores the education of non-Muslim minorities, the change in ideology and identity, and the role of some educational and religious institutions after the Arab Spring.

Lineages of the Islamic State: An International Historical Sociology of State (De‐)Formation in Iraq

AbstractExisting accounts of the Islamic State (IS) tend to rely on orientalist and technicist assumptions and hence insufficiently sensitive to the historical, sociological, and international conditions of the possibility of IS. The present article provides an alternative account through a conjunctural analysis that is anchored in an international historical sociology of modern Iraq informed by Leon Trotsky's idea of ‘uneven and combined development’. It foregrounds the concatenation of Iraq's contradictory (post‐)colonial nation‐state formation with the neoliberal conjuncture of 1990‐2014. It shows that the former process involved the tension‐prone fusion of governing institutions of the modern state and the intermittent but steady reproduction, valorization, and politicization of supra‐national (religious‐sectarian) and sub‐national (ethno‐tribal) collective identities, which subverted the emergence of an Iraqi nation. The international sanctions regime of the 1990s transformed sectarian and tribal difference into communitarian tension by fatally undermining the integrative efficacy of the Ba’ath party's authoritarian welfare‐state. Concurrently, the neo‐liberal demolition of the post‐colonial authoritarian welfare states in the region gave rise to the Arab Spring revolutions. The Arab Spring however elicited a successful authoritarian counter‐revolution that eliminated secular‐nationalist forms of oppositional politics. This illiberal neoliberalisation of the region's political economy valorised the religionisation of the domestic effects of the 2003 US‐led destruction of the Iraqi state and its reconstruction on a majoritarian basis favouring the Shi’as and hence transforming sectarian tension into sectarian conflict culminating in IS. Thus, IS is, the paper demonstrates, the result of neither an internal cultural pathology nor sheerly external forces. Rather, it is the novel product of an utterly historical congealment of the intrinsically interactive and multilinear dynamics of socio‐political change.