Makings of a Tunisian Revolution

Almost a year ago, Egypt broke into civil unrest when protesters flooded Tahrir Square, demanding the end of Hosnia Mubarak’s regime. Although Mubarak stepped down within two weeks, Egypt is worse off today than it was last January. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), which played a vital role in the January revolution, has now become a violent and oppressive force. On the twenty-ninth of December 2011, the SCAF raided seventeen Egyptian, German, and US run NGOs in search of proof of illegal foreign funding.1 In a statement (A/HRC/18/NGO/77) submitted by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), and the Center for Egyptian Women’s

In the essay ‘Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted’ by Malcolm Gladwell, he writes of how the revolutions of today will never amount to those of the past due to the lack of interactions that social media provides. In the article Tweet Like An Egyptian by Kevin Clarke, who writes of the revolution started by Arab women who learned of all the freedoms in the world by interacting on the Internet and wanting the same rights as all of the other women who have freedom in civilized countries around the world.

The Revolutions of 1848 and the Arab Spring Movement are similar because of the method the authorities used to stop the uprisings, which is exemplified in France, Egypt, and Syria. In Horace Vernet’s “La barricade de la rue Soufflot,” it shows French uniform soldiers firing onto protestors in a major

"Social Media: Destroyer or Creator" is an online article published by The New York Times on February 3, 2016. The author of this article, Thomas L. Friedman, tells the story of Wael Ghonim and his experience with social media. According to the text, Wael was an Egyptian Google employee who saw a Facebook post about another Egyptian man named Khaled Said who was killed by police. The author states that since they were both Egyptian, Ghonim felt like the same thing could have happened to him. Ghonim then made a Facebook page named We are All Khaled Said were he discussed his views. The page quickly picked up stamina gaining one hundred thousand followers in just two days. According to the text, Ghonim unknowingly started the Egyptian revolution.

The revolutions of 1848 all started, when French citizens overthrew their king, King Louis Philippe (pg. 118). This was due to the horrible economy the French were experiencing, and the king’s horrible rule over France. The revolutionaries in France wanted to establish a Constitutional government, so they could have more control on how the government was run. After overthrowing King Louis Philippe, the French people established the Second French Republic (pg. 119). After the Second French Republic was established, the French thought it was over and life would be great from now on, however, there was a crack in the corner stone of Paris and it was getting bigger and bigger with each day. The groups of people that worked together to make the

Revolution is a way to make change in power, or a country’s governmental system. For some people it is a step towards freedom, a new beginning, also an action against injustice, corrupted government and leaders. Revolution is a movement to bring down a distorted regime and to make a complete change to a nation’s fundamental institutions. There were several revolutions that occurred in history such as the American, French, and Iranian Revolution among many others. Each of these revolutions brought many significant changes to a nation’s economy, culture and sociopolitical organization. According to Marxist Communism, revolution is very crucial to change the societies from one historical phase to another and the perception of revolution is an

Throughout history many societies have, and will likely continue to have revolutions as we as humans strive towards a utopian society. Each and every one of these revolution follows some pattern, a pattern that most often includes a great number of civilian casualties. But what is it that pushes such revolutions forward? Why have people risked and given their lives fighting against their own leadership? Looking at both the French Revolution and the Arab Spring can help uncover the answer to these questions, as for people to willingly risk their lives, they must have been living in destitute situations. Both of these societies did indeed have many social and economic problems, as well as a poor quality of life, specifically for the bottom class, or in the case of the French Revolution, the Third Estate. It is because of these issues that the people stood up to their leaders and demanded a better life, overtaking the government in the process.

The 2011 uprising in Egypt was in many ways a traditional brick-and-mortar revolution, but with a cyber-twist to it: based on their statistical analysis of a large body of tweets related to the 2011 uprising in Egypt, Starbird and Palen (2012) observed that activists used Twitter as an important tool to share ideas and information with like-minded people, because Twitter allows a high number of activists interact using its retweet and other mechanisms. In this case, Twitter was used among participants and supporters of a traditional mass movement to bypass government controlled

A revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests (both violent and non-violent), riots, and civil wars in the Arab World that began on 18 December 2010, later gained the heading “The Arab spring”. The Arab spring began by a twenty six year old boy named Mohammed Bouazizi was getting ready to sell fruits and vegetables in a rural town of Sidi Bouzid Tunisia. Bouazizi was the primary supporter for his widowed mother and six of his siblings. The entire incident originated when the police officer asked bouazizi to hand over his wooden cart, he refused the police women allegedly slapped him after being publicly humiliated bouazizi marched in front of a government building and set himself on fire. The Jasmine revolution in Tunisia, the shock wave swept across the country which threatened the stability of this oil-rich region with repercussion felt internationally. After the world witnessed what happened in Tunisia, it caused a spilled over into most of the Arab countries. Such as Egypt, Libya Syria and Yemen. Aim of this paper is to show that the current situation corollary of decades of failed policies, exacerbated by an unsolicited foreign intervention. The extensive consequences, I will argue, require cautious attention and careful management from international communities as well as the Arab human rights committee. This paper seeks to explore the profound causes that prompted the so called “Arab awakening” and the covert hidden agenda behind the sudden pro democratic

In late 2010, a tidal wave of uprisings and protests in various parts of the Arab world emerged. It began with the Tunisian revolution when the martyr Mahmoud Bouazizi set fire to himself as a result of the deteriorating economic and social. This led to protests and demonstrations that ended with the fall of the ruling regime. In Tunisia which sparked the beginning of revolutions in many Arab countries, this is known as an Arab Spring. The question remains what are the real reasons that led to the Arab Spring and its effects? the causes of the Arabic spring May be varied, depending on the places, however the reasons can be a corruption in economic policies and demand social justice as the key motives and protests in the Arab world. This essay will discuss the most important reasons, and the effects of what is known as the Arab Spring.

The main actors of the revolution were Mohamed Bouazizi, young cyber activists, young unemployed generation, and civil society group including trade union movement, lawyers, and opposition parties that joined as the conflict escalated.

Most individuals who were involved in the protests were led by the belief that it was through the protests that they could better their lives. The majority of the Egyptian citizens have felt down, trodden and despised over the recent years by their governments. Most governments were revolts were witnessed had stayed in power for a long period of time. In Egypt, for example, Mubarak had stayed in power for more than 40 years. Removing him from powered through democratic means had borne no fruits since most presidential elections had been marred by instances or rigging and corruption. He had therefore instituted himself as a president for life. One aspect of Mubarak’s governments was that it was dictatorial. Besides, the people surrounding Mubarak were so powerful that talking negatively about the president could easily lead an individual into trouble.

In order to achieve a revolution, as the Egyptian people were attempting to do, much protest is needed. However, the Egyptian military immediately suppressed the protesters in order to keep the movement at bay. Freedom of speech was practically eliminated from Egyptian society. In order to keep activists from speaking their mind over the Internet, bloggers were always at high risk to be summoned to tribunals. Online protester Maikel Nabil Sanad, 26, was found guilty of “insulting the military” and “disturbing public security”

“When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right” is a quote from Victor Hugo that symbolizes the new age of human rights. Over the years, countries around the world have witnessed terrifying yet life-changing revolutions, but no one in history had expected for such a quick and sudden revolution to begin like the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring has allowed people, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, to speak out for what they believe in today. Many laws have been overturned due to the amount of pressure the people are putting on their government. One revolution started it all, and ever since then, we have realized many of the biggest protests in history, the rise and downfalls of the economy, a different side to the

Contemporary social movements such as Arab Spring and Kony 2012 use the Internet and social media as potential tools towards change. But why are some more successful than others. This paper argues that when news outlets see the potential for change, they “premediate” (Richard Grusin) its possibilities, and make that change ever more possible in their coverage. On the other hand, extant stories that are more reactionary do not get the same amount of new exposure, and remain static. In other words, our media - not just social media, but news organizations - play a great role in shaping current events. I will compare and contrast the unfolding of the Arab Spring story, and how little changed regarding Kony 2012, as cases in point.