Recently, North Africa and the Middle East have been hotspots of conflict, driven by political, social, economic, and cultural differences. The Arab Spring was caused by a combination of many political, economic, and social factors (Gelvin, 2015). Nevertheless, in my opinion, economic reasons can be identified as the most acute ones that prompted people to demonstrate. It can be concluded that the onset of the Arab Spring was caused by many factors, with the most significant being the economic conflict between the corrupt elite and the poor masses. Thus, the popular uprisings in the Arab countries can be seen as a struggle of the working class against privatization and the withdrawal of the state from the economy.
The revolutionary events of the Arab Spring, which involved many states in the region in a series of popular demonstrations and protests, broke out in Tunisia. It was the attempt of self-immolation of a young unemployed Tunisian merchant that was the driving force that brought outraged people to the streets (Gelvin, 2015). They demanded lower prices for goods, more jobs, taking measures against corruption, and reforms. The fact that the uprising begins in one of the most stable and well-off states in the Middle East is indicative. The high level of unemployment and corruption and the uneven distribution of economic benefits within the country forced the inhabitants of such a seemingly prosperous region to revolt.
The prerequisites for the uprising in Egypt were also laid in the internal socio-economic dilemmas of the state. It was assumed that the liberalization, privatization, and new deal of the Mubarak government would replace Nasserism and statism and bring prosperity and democracy to the country (Gelvin, 2015). However, the ideology and politics of neoliberalism in Egypt led to the emergence of many urban paupers. This economic reason has become the most crucial factor that explains the rapid spread of protests in many states of the Arab region. The public desire to overthrow the president was caused by the need to open the way for a systemic socio-economic transformation. Therefore, economic problems can be considered a common denominator, with the help of which it would be possible to analyze the multidirectional trajectories of the socio-political processes of the Arab spring.
Corruption, the unfair distribution of national wealth, the widening gap between rich and poor, and rising food prices have become endemic problems in almost all Arab countries. Collectively, people went to the streets to demand a change in the ruling regime, but this resulted from numerous economic issues and is not the original cause of the uprisings. The leading cause of widespread unrest in the many Arab States should be found in the negative consequences of the liberal economic reforms imposed on these countries by international financial institutions (Gelvin, 2015). These reforms have led to an increase in socio-economic inequality: the impoverished, disenfranchised majority of the population was at the lowest economic level. At the highest financial status, a minor, rich, oligarchic clash of the bourgeoisie was closely linked to the ruling authoritarian regime and controlling most of the Arab economy.
The causes of social unrest in the Arab countries at the beginning of the 21st century lie in numerous internal and external factors. However, the role of acute internal socio-economic issues that could not be solved in the post-colonial period was the most significant. The Arab Spring mainly resulted from a wide range of economic issues that weighed heavily on the population. People, tired of the economic imbalance among the people and the lack of economic opportunities for a decent life for most of the country’s population, demanded changes. The urgent need to solve such complex and severe financial problems in society pushed them to revolt.
Reference
Gelvin, J. (2015). The Arab uprisings: What everyone needs to know. Oxford University Press.