Wednesday, January 21, 2015
WHAP Week 3 Jan. 19-23
This week, I want you to carry the conversation. Last week's discussion was on the Arab Spring. This week, I want YOU to find articles that show the effects/impact of the Arab Spring on current world events. Find an article, link the article within your post, and summarize for us what is is about (in other words, ICE the article). What is the continuing legacy of the Arab Spring?
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An article by NPR news tells of the Arab Spring in the current times. To me, all of the events happening, vaguely remind me of the apocalyptic movies. Not the zombie ones, but the political issues. This article tells of a man who lit himself on fire to make a point to the government. http://www.npr.org/2011/12/17/143897126/the-arab-spring-a-year-of-revolution His becoming what they labeled as a "martyr" led to a revolution in Tunisia, which ended in their very own president fleeing the country. More and more "revolutions" and protests are planned, and carried out. Some successfully, but others, not so much. The continuing legacy of Arab Spring, to me, seems to be freedom. Just as all the cheesy apocalyptic movies end.
ReplyDeleteIn the article it says that the U.S. should begin to step in and help with these conflicts. I however, disagree. The U.S. is already in major debt and stepping is a financial concern to our country. Thinking back to the French Revolution, one of the major reasons the country went into poverty was because France helped fund the American Revolution. If we step in the way France did we'll be losing resources that might be better used to serve our own country.
DeleteI have to agree with Hannah. In other articles I looked through, the president's attempts have been failed in the past. As much as helping other countries seems noble; it isn't our place to step into the business of every country. Although, the US could learn a little bit more about the countries we're worried about. Miscomunication could lead to our country being dragged into a problem or being accused of something.
DeleteI can also easily agree with Hannah. Debate last year helped open my eyes to how much money the United States actually DON'T have. It was about economic relationships with Mexico, Cuba, and Venezuela. Looking at facts we definitely don't have the money to intervene with those countries, and i know we don't have the money to intervene with Arabic ones either.
DeleteThis was an inspiring article about a man who took it upon himself to take action and ended up becoming a martyr for change in the Islamic and Egyptian communities. The use of social media to fight for their rights shows that social media has great power in our current world. This article is a true testament to how people have the power to change their governments and lives.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis article is was written by a research group from Tel Aviv University they recognize one of the most prominent threats in the region of the Arab Spring is the lack of leadership (http://valdaiclub.com/middle_east/31560.html). This region is barley stable with a leader when you take that leader out it creates in power vacuum. There are three major forces competing for control of the area. The democratic forces are looking to give the power back to the people with fair public elections. Islamic organization are the front runners because they control most of the surrounding regions. The last competitor is the regions existing military regimes they have been able to make a large impact on the political stage in the region. Its unclear what force will gain control of the region but it is clear that the people of the region need help
ReplyDeleteI agree with the article that the lack of strong leadership is a major problem in the countries of the Arab Spring. There are so many forces competing for control that none of them can get it. That is why the path to democracy is so difficult for these countries. Even if the people are able to rebel and establish some democratic forces. They do not have enough power to sustain the democracy.
Deletehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/11362651/The-disastrous-triumph-of-the-Arab-Spring.html The article that I choose was one that describes the pro's and con's of the Arab Spring it's kind of obvious to all people why it's bad (hundreds of thousands of people have died) but the positives from this event can be from mild to massive with the potential to completely re-invent the middle-east into something greater.
ReplyDeleteEldon T.
The Arab spring may have toppled many corrupt governments and sparked new ideas. However, during the protests one very important idea was thrown in the backseat, women's rights. Women had a big part in the protests, but were left vulnerable to harassment in the absence of a stable government. This article, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2013/11/12/Arab-Spring-nations-backtrack-on-women-s-rights-poll-says-.html shows statistics on how the Arab spring affected women's rights in Arab countries, in particular, Egypt.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really cool article, and was interesting to read. The fact that the revolutions hit women's rights so hard was crazy. It's strange to read that 99.3 of women are sexual harassed, but I really liked their last bit. Rollback of Rights, I thought it was really something how they're still working hard to restore their rights
DeleteI enjoyed this article. I thought it was very interesting how in Syria, ranked fourth worst in the poll, women's rights have been hit badly in a country torn apart 2-1/2 years of civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people.
DeleteI think that this is a really interesting article that needed to be written. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole point of the Arab Spring freedom? People go into these kinds of things trying to get freedom and justice, but for whom? If the Arab Spring protests only lead to freedom for men, then they don't really lead to freedom.
Deletehttp://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21581734-despite-chaos-blood-and-democratic-setbacks-long-process-do-not-give-up
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses the difficult path to freedom that the countries of the Arab spring must endure.These countries do not have the democratic institutions to sustain a democracy, and their one unifying factor, Islam, cannot accommodate democracy. The article goes on to explain that these countries should not give up hope. There are small steps being made toward freedom. Even though the path will be long and bloody, there is a reward in the end. It may take many years to uproot their ancient dictatorships, but it is possible.
I agree that the fight for democracy in the region will be long and very bloody, but it will be well worth the fight. Who knows once one region becomes a democracy others might follow, completely changing the political landscape of the middle east.
DeleteThe article I picked is talking about the tensions of the Sunnis and Shiites. Both of which are a major denominations of the Islamic faith. The differences themselves began over the centuries, a main factor being in 632AD with the death of Mohammed. It came down to the Shiites believing that Mohammed's cousin was supposed to be his next successor while the Sunnis believed a successor should've been elected. The incident of the Arab Spring only brought on more tension between these two groups. Before the incident there was heavy suspicions on both sides from the other.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/02/23/bahrain.sunni.shiite.explainer/
I also read an article over the Sunnis and Shiites, they both are very strong and powerful groups. The incident of the Arab Springs is only making things worse between these two, which makes it very hard for the government to control them.
DeleteIn the article I found, the author talks about the aftermath of the countries that have so far managed to overthrow their leaders. He calls it the Arab Winter: the violence and problems countries have lapsed into after their "success." Most of the countries involved in the Arab Spring, while having achieved a few gains, they have lost lives, money and suffered extreme violence. Some leaders are even repeating the same mistakes.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thejournal.ie/arab-spring-1879425-Jan2015/
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ReplyDeleteThe article I read summarized impacts with 6 points.
ReplyDelete1: End of unaccountable governments. Corrupt and untrustable governments have been overthrown without foreign military intervention
2: Explosion of political activity. Many media sources discussing political events have launched recently.
3: Islamist-Secular divide. The already existent division between the two has only grown deeper.
4: Conflict and civil war. Anti-government rebels were successful in Libya.
5: Sunni-Shiite tension. Tension was already high between the two and recently it has exploded and grown exponentially.
6: Economic uncertainty. Many factors in economic anxiety have gotten worse with things such as youth unemployment.
http://middleeast.about.com/od/humanrightsdemocracy/tp/Arab-Spring-Impact-On-The-Middle-East.htm
The the article "Arab Spring Countries Find Peace Is Harder Than Revolution" by Ben Hubbard Rick Gladstone. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/15/world/middleeast/egypt-bloodshed-may-be-ill-omen-for-broader-region.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0. It talks about what the movement has caused, and the chaos that inevitability followed. In the beginning it had been a revolution, but now it's become corrupt and turned into bitter struggles for power. It's not as if they don't think good will come about this, but at the moment their societies are headed into periods of extreme unrest. Even though they still think this will be beneficial in the long run. With the impression this article gave me, I just can't see it ending well.
ReplyDeleteThis post was written by Zaki Elakawi. https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/zaki-samy-elakawi/geostrategic-consequences-of-arab-spring. This post has told me that the Arab Springs has caused weak states with people with weak leadership to cause a revolt within themselves. This revolt has caused their leader to lose his leadership with an attempt of the people to take control themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of leadership has created a very unstable life but I think it will be awhile until things calm down. As Justin pointed out, there are three main groups fighting for different things and they are still early in their revolution. I wonder who will come out on top and how long it will take to find out.
DeleteI agree, but I also understand why people would try to take matters into their own hands and try to take control. In a place with a week leadership, there will be people who will fell like its up to them to straighten things out.
DeleteAnd whenever there is no leadership that has control of the whole country it is easy for them to succom to outside forces, such as Al-Queda.
DeleteThe article, Arab Spring (2013): Two Years of Arab Spring, written by Oliver Masetti, Kevin Körner, Magdalena Forster and Jacob Friedman, Frankfurt am Main showed me that it caused a lot of death and if they lived, they were forced out of their homes and had to survive on little resources. Woman are also treated badly compared to men which makes me thankful for my life where I can have a good education and I can be respected. These revolts are never ending because of the lack of leadership by the government and citizens wanting more out of their country which I find very understandable.
ReplyDeletehttp://goo.gl/GVKyhm
I agree. The government is trying to maintain control, but is doing the complete opposite. Their lack of leadership is a big cause for some of these revolts taking place, and more and more revolts are happening, because so many peoples rights are being violated, and the only way the people think they can react to this injustice, is to revolt.
DeleteI agree with Sophie and Kegan. The government is failing at maintaining control, and they are violating peoples rights. It does make you thankful that we have so much freedom in America, and can get treated with respect without having to revolt. If the government would just learn to fulfill the peoples needs, maybe there would not be so many revolts.
Deletehttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/anniversary-of-arab-spring-in-egypt-turns-deadly/
ReplyDeleteThis article is reporting that the anniversary of the Arab Spring has turned deadly in Egypt, causing over 15 deaths and dozens of citizens and law enforcement wounded in the brawls across the country. These skirmishes still clearly show the tension that still resides within the torn country and the restless attempts to establish a free democracy in Egypt.
The article, "Why I Still Believe In The Arab Spring", is a presentation given by Iyad el-Baghdadi. Iyad makes a good point in saying that "When the people boil and demand democracy, and instead of giving them democracy you put the lid back on even tighter than it was before, you do not get stability — you get an explosion" (Baghadadi), When the government permanently expels or arrests influential leaders for the Arab Spring, all it does is cause more chaos, and the more they try to contain this chaos, the more they will lose control. http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/06/why-i-still-believe-in-the-arab-spring/
ReplyDeleteI think that Iyad is right about people. If the people want something bad enough they will get it and if you try to keep suppressing them you will end up with a bigger mess and more chaos.
Deletehttp://swampland.time.com/2012/09/13/will-the-arab-spring-rain-on-obamas-re-election/
ReplyDeleteThis article is a bit older. It says, could the Arab Springs have impacted Obamas 2012 election. Truthfully I believe it could have, Obviously we know it didnt too much. What would have happened if it did though. Obama would been out voted. The other president couldve done the exact same.
The article titled "The Economic Consequences of the Arab Spring"(2014) by Mohsin Khan makes a good point when he explains how the social unrest, higher oil prices, slower global growth, and regional spillovers resulted in sharp declines in gross domestic products and rising unemployment. Obviously, the Arab Spring has impacted the Arab transition countries in a negative way. But only market oriented reforms will help these countries generate new jobs and improve standards of living.
ReplyDelete"The Arab spring: Has it failed?" ( http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21581734-despite-chaos-blood-and-democratic-setbacks-long-process-do-not-give-up ) brings up some good points to all of this. The author notes a few points that a reader might ask as reading it then addresses them as best as they can. From an outsiders point of view the whole situation seems to not be working, but if you look at what this all has sparked, which can be debated, it is working quite effectively. People are striving for a different form a life, to live better. There will be a rocky transition period, but it is that way with all topics like this.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you have said. Some things will take time and action. This is one such movement. The want for a better life is one that cannot go away unless it is attained, or those who want it are eliminated completely. It is human nature to always want more or a better form of something. The Arab Spring has failed if it was intended to be a one shot revolution. If it was the beginning of more, however, it cannot fail.
Deletehttp://middleeast.about.com/od/humanrightsdemocracy/tp/Arab-Spring-Impact-On-The-Middle-East.htm In this article it gave a whole lot of information and background on the government in Arab Springs, and how the whole situation started. It also talked about the Sunni and Shiite, branches of Islam in the middle east. It states that most of the Sunnis were scared in siding with the government. It's hard for a country to get control of people when they are taking sides and fighting against each other.
ReplyDeleteI agree, gaining control is completely necessary to maintain a society. Of course, a healthy amount of control. When people "take sides and fight against each other", it causes more strife and disunity among a country.
DeleteThe Arab Spring has made other countries such as Yemen riot to get what they want. Yemen has now thrown out Ali Abdullah and plans to elect a new leader next month according to http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/01/25/america_and_the_arab_spring_112902.html. That seems like its a good thing but if you look around it could make things worse.In this unorganized state it cant protect itself from the outside, such as Al-Queda. Al-Queda has been taking over cities close to Yemen and will probably invade it in the nearby future. To support the to be-invasion it has been proven that Al-Queda had helped Yemeni citizens get rid of Ali Abdullah. If Al-Queda gets Yemen the world world would be in more trouble than if the leaders who were thrown out still ruled. Al-Queda would have a crucial foothold to getting Saudi Arabia and then we would be in trouble.
ReplyDeleteIn this article entitled "Why Arab Spring has not delivered real democracy" by Gerald Butt (lol) (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27632777) the attempts to change the government throughout the Arab Spring are presented as failed in all but one country; Tunisia. Tunisia has completely redone it's major governmental ideals, and it's military is supportive. They have begun to implement democracy. In all other countries, however, the effects were detrimental to the development of the regions. The same leaders and military continued to control their countries. The result of many of the revolts and riots was not increased freedom, only a decreased population.
ReplyDeleteAccording to http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/15/world/middleeast/egypt-bloodshed-may-be-ill-omen-for-broader-region.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0, it seems as if they have not planned for a new form of government. The people overthrowing the government generally just think about the impact they are having, but not the effects it may have on society as a whole. During this state of weakness and vulnerability, it is easier for outside enemies to attack. A new form of government should have been planned before the overthrow.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I feel as if the people who are overthrowing the government are caught up in the present and the impact they are making. Not the impacts it has on the surrounding regions now, and in the future.
Deletehttps://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/zaki-samy-elakawi/geostrategic-consequences-of-arab-spring This article talked mainly about the consequences of a week government system. Due to the mass protests in the region, states have been weakened as has the monopoly of force in several Arab countries. The governments who were able to keep control cannot reconcile themselves with a very mobilized society and have not been able to reach a consensus to calm the upheavals, ultimately resulting in a weak government system.
ReplyDeleteThe article I found recounts the political instability in sub-Saharan Africa caused by the Arab Spring. I t shows that the failure of a state does not only cause problems in the nation where the state failed, but as well as the surrounding region, going so far as to start multiple revolutions and rapidly changing governments.
ReplyDeletehttp://library.fundforpeace.org/fsi13-arabspring
The article I chose was one that goes through different outcomes of the Arab Spring. Some of these are: how the US no longer calls the shots for the Middle East, how Iran actually gained from the Arab Spring, how there was not a good outcome for women in that they get bad treatment, and can not be involved in politics, and how social media plays an important role in Saudi Arabia. It shows how the Arab Spring changed the Middle East, benefited it, and destroyed it. This article really helped me understand what the outcomes of it were. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25212247
ReplyDelete