Arab Spring: Difference between revisions
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==Background: the Arab condition== | ==Background: the Arab condition== | ||
The countries involved in the Arab Spring include: two mixed oil economies (Algeria and Libya); three oil economies (Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia); six diversified economies (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia); and one primary export economy (Yemen). The oil-producing countries of Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Libya are among the world's more prosperous countries. The others are below, or well below the world average in terms of GDP per head, with Syria ranking 153rd out of a total of 228. | The countries involved in the Arab Spring include: two mixed oil economies (Algeria and Libya); three oil economies (Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia); six diversified economies (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia); and one primary export economy (Yemen). The oil-producing countries of Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Libya are among the world's more prosperous countries. The others are below, or well below the world average in terms of GDP per head, with Syria ranking 153rd out of a total of 228. According to one estimate at least 19% of the Arab population lived below the [[poverty line]] at the end of the 1990s<ref>[http://www.arab-api.org/cv/aali-cv/aali/wps0402.pdf Ali Abdel Gadir Ali: ''Poverty in the Arab Region: A Selective Review'', (Background paper prepared for the IFPRI / API Collaborative Research Project on: ''Public Policy and Poverty Reduction in the Arab Region''.) page 26]</ref> | ||
According to one estimate at least 19% of the Arab population lived below the [[poverty line]] at the end of the 1990s<ref>[http://www.arab-api.org/cv/aali-cv/aali/wps0402.pdf Ali Abdel Gadir Ali: ''Poverty in the Arab Region: A Selective Review'', (Background paper prepared for the IFPRI / API Collaborative Research Project on: ''Public | |||
Policy and Poverty Reduction in the Arab Region''.) page 26]</ref | |||
==The development of national movements== | ==The development of national movements== | ||
Revision as of 04:25, 30 July 2011
Although there have been other uses, the term Arab Spring is now taken to refer to the sequence of protest movements that started with the successful uprising in Tunisia that began in December 2010. The subsequent protest movements in other Arab countries were mainly motivated by a wish to put an end to what was perceived as government oppression, corruption and incompetence. Many sought to go so by introducing a measure of democratic accountability, but the various national movements had little else in common, apart from confidence inspired by the Tunisian success.
Background: the Arab condition
The countries involved in the Arab Spring include: two mixed oil economies (Algeria and Libya); three oil economies (Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia); six diversified economies (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia); and one primary export economy (Yemen). The oil-producing countries of Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Libya are among the world's more prosperous countries. The others are below, or well below the world average in terms of GDP per head, with Syria ranking 153rd out of a total of 228. According to one estimate at least 19% of the Arab population lived below the poverty line at the end of the 1990s[1]