The Struggle for Democracy: An Analysis of the Arab Spring On December 17, 2010, a solitary act of protest ignited a fire that would engulf the Islamic world, and usher in a period of democratic struggle that would radically change the political landscape of the Middle East. In her book, Rock the Casbah author Robin Wright clearly correlates the comprehensive struggle for democracy in the Middle East with this single act of protest, the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia, as the catalyst. Wright states, “The political fate of an entire region turned on December 17, 2010, when Tunisia’s corrupt autocracy pushed the young peddler too far” (Wright, p.15). Within this act of protest, Bouazizi awakened the idea that government has
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As a regime changes and more democratic ideas flourish, the experience level of the people to comprehend the system, and political culture of democracy are crucial factors. To use the uprising in Egypt during the Arab Spring as an example, protestors were able to use their demands to facilitate the resignation of authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak. In this example, instead of demanding that free and democratic elections took place, the protestor 's instead acquiesced to the tasking of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to manage the state 's affairs (Wright, p. 36). By allowing the Supreme Council of The Armed Forces to take control of the government, the protestors were revealing their inexperience for how a democracy forms from democratic struggle. The acquiescence of the protestors did however, result in an election referendum on nine constitutional amendments, but the state of Egypt was still an authoritarian state, even with the departure of Mubarak. Many Egyptians, including women and opposition leaders, opposed these constitutional amendments, and instead wanted a new constitution. The inexperience of the protestors to understand the democratic and political process resulted in a somewhat partial acceptance of demands without a full account of the tenets of democracy (Wright, p. 235). With this example, as seen in the case of Egypt, how well the democratic process is faring is again, directly connected to how well the struggle for democracy is carried
As a regime changes and more democratic ideas flourish, the experience level of the people to comprehend the system, and political culture of democracy are crucial factors. To use the uprising in Egypt during the Arab Spring as an example, protestors were able to use their demands to facilitate the resignation of authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak. In this example, instead of demanding that free and democratic elections took place, the protestor 's instead acquiesced to the tasking of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to manage the state 's affairs (Wright, p. 36). By allowing the Supreme Council of The Armed Forces to take control of the government, the protestors were revealing their inexperience for how a democracy forms from democratic struggle. The acquiescence of the protestors did however, result in an election referendum on nine constitutional amendments, but the state of Egypt was still an authoritarian state, even with the departure of Mubarak. Many Egyptians, including women and opposition leaders, opposed these constitutional amendments, and instead wanted a new constitution. The inexperience of the protestors to understand the democratic and political process resulted in a somewhat partial acceptance of demands without a full account of the tenets of democracy (Wright, p. 235). With this example, as seen in the case of Egypt, how well the democratic process is faring is again, directly connected to how well the struggle for democracy is carried