A revolutionary wave of protests and lobbies in the Arab world that commenced in Tunisia later on spreading to other nations in the Arab-League is what constitutes the Arab spring. Pre-democracy insurgencies erupted in March 2011 after the apprehension and torture of teenagers who painted subversive jingles on a school wall in the city of Deraa (Nepstad, 2013). The police force killed several protesters after opening fire on them, which led the latter to take to the streets. It triggered unrest throughout the nation as demonstrators demanded President Bashar al-Assad’s resignation.
It all began when people opened up to universal ideas and were motivated to bring to an end the authoritarian rule in the nation (Noueihed & Warren, 2012). They wanted a country free of corruption, a nation with social justice, dignity, and liberty among all citizens. Some of these ideas may be attributed to social media, which opened up the people’s minds to new notions. Ba’thist’s regime was one of ruthlessness, which held onto power for decades of suppression and torture. In addition, the army’s use of brutality led to disintegration pushing to the revolutionary ideas.
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Image source: Noueihed & Warren ( 2012)
Assad created a cohesive regime in the country by conflating the identity of the nation with that of his administration. It made any endeavors to dislodge his governance a provocation to the state itself. Despite this, thousands of Syrians gathered publicly and held an extraordinary protest demanding for greater freedoms. Facebook was one of the main channels used to bring people together and share their ideas (Noueihed and Warren, 2012). Video footages of youths drenched in blood and police using force acted as a catalyst pushing people towards the Arab spring. The demonstrations were held across various cities whereby thousands were killed in the uprising.
Image source: Noueihed & Warren ( 2012)
References
Noueihed, L., & Warren, A. (2012). The battle for the Arab Spring: Revolution, counter-revolution and the making of a new era . Yale University Press.
Nepstad, S. E. (2013). Mutiny and nonviolence in the Arab Spring Exploring military defections and loyalty in Egypt, Bahrain, and Syria. Journal of Peace Research , 50 (3), 337-349.
