Tell me more ×
History Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for historians and history buffs. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

Too what extent did the protesters throughout the Arab spring in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt achieve their aims?

What happened after the various regimes resigned, what has changed and what would the protesters still like to see happen in their country.

share|improve this question
3  
Is this really history yet? It's rather on going. The outcomes in many of these events haven't really come to completion. – Daniel Bingham Feb 22 '12 at 16:28
In addition to the previous comment and @DVK response here (noting the multiple actors amongst the protesters), there is also the issue of economic, cultural, and institutional differences between the three nations. It is too early to tell for instance in Egypt if the military will relinquish control as promised in July or if the left and liberal minority will succeed in the goals outlined in their alternate constitution, which isn't drafted yet. And that's just Egypt. – BrotherJack Mar 28 '12 at 2:19

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

In Libya they completely ousted the regime and they are in an intermediate phase towards implementing democracy.

In Egypt they namely ousted the official dictator, but de facto nothing changed: the military are still in power and are oppressing the people much more than before. The protesters must certainly hope to somehow remove the military from power.

share|improve this answer
1  
Any why on Earth did this post deserve a downvote? – Lohoris Feb 13 '12 at 8:54
up vote 1 down vote

Libya:

Gaddafi was ousted from power and killed. Most of his sons (heirs) are in captivity or dead. Right now, the interim government is still trying to find its place. There are still conflicts going on. Libya is a tribal country, and there are reports of cells of Gaddafi loyalists still fighting on. The situation there is still very fragile and hard to predict. The National Transition Council is still in the process of drafting election laws.

Tunisia:

Former President Ben Ali was deposed and remains in self imposed exile. The Tunisians have just had their first elections, and have elected their first post revolution president (former dissident and centrist secularist Marzouki) and a constituent assembly where the majority of the seats went to the Islamist party Nahda. They are in the process of reforming the Tunisian constitution.

Egypt:

Even though president Mubrarak has stepped down and is undergoing corruption trials (along with several of members of his cabinet), the interim military government has yet to relinquish control, although they have relaxed the emergency laws that have been in place since 1958, though not fully lifted them. The Egyptian people have just recently finished electing a new parliament, where again formerly banned Islamists have won the majority of the seats. There have been mixed results from them. On one hand, the new government has declared that it would not break the peace with Israel. On the other hand, there has been more and more cases of legal prosecution against anti-Islamic free speech. Egypt's situation remains very volatile.

Syria:

The country seems to sinking deeper and deeper into a state of civil war. Although the Syrian regime has been ostracized by the international community and its fellow Arab nations, it still has an ally in Iran. Russia and China as well seem to be determined to veto any UN sanctioned actions against Assad's government.

share|improve this answer
2  
While this is a good summary of the state of affairs, it doesn't answer "meet their goals" - in large part, because the question didn't bother narrowing down what the goals are (and it's VERY hard to pin down due to multiple stakeholders) – DVK Feb 15 '12 at 19:58

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.