Arab Spring

Introduction

The "Arab Spring" is a collection of popular protests, scale and intensity of highly variable, occurring in many countries of the Arab world from December 2010. The term "Arab Spring" refers to the “Spring of Nations "in 1848 which it was compared. These national revolutionary movements are also called the Arab revolutions, revolts or of Arab "Arab awakening.”

These events began on 17 December 2010 in the town of Sidi Bouzid by the revolution in Tunisia that led Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali to step down. Other people turn to repeat the slogan "Get out” that became the symbol of these revolutions. Besides the start of the dictators and the establishment of a democracy protesters are demanding a share of wealth which ensures better living conditions, jobs, and dignity ("Karama" in Arabic). While the Egyptian revolution causes the departure of Hosni Mubarak and a democratic transition, others do not have the same consequences: in Libya, she turns to the civil war between forces loyal to the regime of Libyan of Muammar Gaddafi and insurgents, backed by foreign intervention under the mandate of the UN; in Bahrain, Revolutionary Solidarity against the Gulf monarchies foiled the protest movement but it starts from June 2011, in Yemen, the dictator Saleh that represses revolt hovers between demands of the opposition and international support for a peaceful transition and resigned Feb. 27, and Syria, the repression by the regime of Bashar al-Assad causes thousands of deaths. Despite the violence of repression in all countries affected by large fluctuations, they fail almost all the challenges and continue.

Economic consequences

Two countries, Tunisia and Egypt, have changed their leaders, the first will change the constitution and the second was somewhat reformed in a more democratic direction. Other countries such as Jordan and Syria have seen a change of Prime Minister.

Tunisia and Egypt, economic growth, already too low to provide employment to all, will fall in 2011. In 2010, exports from southern Mediterranean countries fell by 30%, tourism revenue by 4%, and with the economic crisis, foreign direct investment have also plummeted by 31.2%. Remittances from migrants working in the Gulf or the West have also decreased by 6%. Crisis likely to continue, the economic question is, with the success of democratic transition, the main challenge for all governments in the Arab world, whether or not they resulted from revolutions. If unemployment, partly the cause of revolutions, not decreasing, we might witness a second wave of revolts within two years. According to the OAT, the tourism sector for the entire Arab world has already lost $ 4.3 billion since the beginning of the year.

The causal link between the Arab events and rising prices of oil and gas is not accepted by everyone. They would only amplify a preexisting structural trend (Arab human development report, 90).

In April 2011, an IMF report shows that the events could, in the long term, "economic stimulus" of countries.

To promote the restart of Tunisian and Egyptian economies, countries and international institutions promise of aid plans:

the United States ...