In the aftermath of the Arab states uprisings, the political landscape in the Middle East has undergone noteworthy transformations in each of the nations that were affected. In addition to the national stage, the world geostrategic relationships have also been transformed. Due to the Arab revolution, the balance of power in nations that were affected has seen remarkable changes.
The main factors that led to the Arab Spring included the need to restore social justice from the long-running autocratic regimes that had characterized the majority of the Arab Countries. The resultant effects have been challenges such as the emergence of new regional arrangements as well as the escalation of divisions within the individual nations. The first consequence of the Arab Spring has been the promotion of power possessed by the masses against autocratic regimes in countries such as Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen. The middle class was instrumental in the quest for a new socio-political system that is fair and free. Through the use of street mass protests and congregations at the city historical sites, the masses broke down the most established authoritarian governments using collective mobilization to resist repression. Examples of the leaders who were dethroned through this system are Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Ben Ali in Tunisia.
The second consequence of the Arab uprisings is the rise in sectarian strife and civil wars. The clear illustration of the Arab spring resulting in the civil war has been Syria. Initially, the uprising in Syria started peacefully with calls for political changes and social justice. The government of Basher Assad used excessive force to thwart the uprising that has spilled over across the whole nation. Consequently, radicalization and undertaking of military training among the opposition have resulted in sectarian polarization along the Sunni and Shiite lines, the major clans in Syria.
The third consequence of the Arab Spring is the battle of geographically strategic significance pitting Saudi Arabia and Iran. This battle is based on regional security approaches by both countries. On one hand, Iran backs a consolidated security strategy in the Gulf region while Saudi Arabia seeks external players such as the United States to secure national and regional interests. In addition, the Iranian support accorded to the Shiite groups in the Arab states fuels the animosity between the two countries. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia supports the Iranian ethnic minorities to destabilize the Iranian regime.
The Role and Influence of the Media
The media undertook a central role in the Arab uprisings since they were used as the tools to mobilize the masses. Some of the most useful media platforms that were used included social sites such as facebook and twitter, mobile phones, and satellite television. The media provided means for the dissemination of information about protests, orchestrating political debates and the spread of democratic ideas. The use of text messages was not used widely due to the geographical limitations it presented. The most prevalent media used was the creation of Facebook pages, Twitter messages, and blogs. Through this media, messages were shared both locally and abroad from the onset of the Arab uprising. For instance, in Tunisia, the president, Ben Ali had clamped down on internet use and banned popular sites such as YouTube and Facebook. However, by the time Ben Ali was ousted from office, over half of the Tunisian population was active internet users.
The main advantage of using the media was in the fact that it presented an efficient communication tool that helped in the organization of the masses. In addition to this, it helped the protestors get global recognition, authentication, and unity with the people both within and outside the region. For this reason, the autocratic regimes had a difficult time in dealing with the protestors. Consequently, the majority of these regimes saw their downfall as a result of the new-found recognition and legitimacy of the protestors’ demands. The utilization of social sites such as Facebook and Twitter changed the scope of news reporting since many people were capable of providing real-time updates of the events as they unfolded. In so doing, the monopoly and possible manipulation of the news by the large media corporations were broken, especially the Western ones.
The emergence of cable television also played a crucial role in the Arab uprising since they provided the alternative source of information to the state-owned broadcasting stations. The state-owned corporations were being used by the government to curtail the flow of information. Some of this stations included Al Jazeera, which supported the protestors and provided a medium of relaying their messages. Al Jazeera supported the protestors despite being owned by the Qatari royal family.
The Global Influence of the Arab Spring
The most notable global influence of the Arab uprisings is the declining influence of the West in matters pertaining to politics and development. The strategic and political changes including the emergence of Asia and the rise of the Gulf countries influence is limiting the influence of the conventional powers. Consequently, it is difficult to find common ground over the precarious global issues. For this reason, the Arab spring resulted in the diffusion of power and influence across nations and non-state players that are in competition. The diffusion has led to the disjointed nature of world political and socio-economic challenges depriving off nations the necessary cooperation to find lasting solutions to these problems.
The multiplication of voices on the global stage has rendered consensus agreements untenable in countries such as Syria or any other Arab spring that may occur. The imposing of solutions on wayward societies by a prevailing external actor is no longer possible as witnessed by the US trying to impose people backed leaders in Iraq and failing miserably. Instead, the variety of players that can exercise their influence on events is aggravating the breakdown of the global response to the states that may be facing crises or nations that are going through a change. For instance, after the dethroning of Mubarak in Egypt, Qatar financed the Muslim Brotherhood government led by Mohamed Morsi offering about 7.5 billion US dollars in 2013. After the Morsi government was overthrown, and the military reinstated, the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE provided support to this government.The support was in terms of cash donations of about 12 billion US dollars as well as petroleum products and investment.
While there are significant distinctions in the aftermath of the Arab Spring developments across the middle east and north Africa, the different paths of the nations have all come together to reinforce the autocratic control. The clamor for political change and enhanced participation of the masses in the governance systems is yet to yield democracy and improved pluralism.
Innovative Writers 