Analysis of the Arab Spring (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 1350)
Analysis of the factors that led to the Arab Spring and what tipped the balance into widespread protest and unrest.
Abstract
Helpdesk query was what are the main points of consensus in the analysis of the Arab Spring about the factors that led to it and what tipped the balance into widespread protest/unrest?
There has been much analysis of the causes and rapid spread of the 2011 Arab Spring (or Arab uprisings). General consensus emerges on a combination of political, economic and social factors as being critical. These can be divided into: (a) structural, long-standing, underlying factors that led to a build-up of popular anger and frustration in Arab countries; and (b) proximate, more immediate factors that transformed localised protests into nationwide movements, and fanned uprisings across the region. Key findings from both types of factors are presented.
Citation
Idris, I. Analysis of the Arab Spring (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 1350). Governance and Social Development Resource Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK (2016) 14 pp.
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