Free Arab Spring - Egypt Essay Sample

1. Introduction
The Arab Spring term refers to various different events that followed in the Middle East and North Africa after 2010 when a street vendor set himself on fire in Tunisia to protest. The public act resulted in uprisings and public protests that followed through the Arab world. Various movements had different results and also used various techniques from nonviolent to violent protest where some movements were more successful than others (Asseburg, 1-6). The reasons for the Arab Spring are numerous and result in the historical development. The reasons include the insufficient economic development in comparison to the increase of population, high unemployment rates, no credible government with dictatorships for long periods of time, high corruption and regimes that did not respect the human and political rights. There were various specific reasons in concrete countries, but all were carried out without the leadership revolt and with social media play an important role (Manfreda, n.p.). The paper will examine the Egypt and its historical and political background for the protests and uprisings with presenting the major events in the uprising and changes that followed.
2. Historical and political background
The historical background of the country is showing the crucial role of the military in the Mubarak’s regime. All institutions in the country were held by the former staff generals of the military. The military was present in every area from food production business. The ruling regime in Egypt and exercising of power was in the hands of a few individuals: president, his close family and the small group of people that were close to Hosni Mubarak which includes the selected senior military, intelligence and party officers. The political background in the country was made bythe elite regime based on the family ties, loyalty and personal connections. In the authoritarian regime of Hosni the elections and being elected and holding a parliamentary seat in Egypt did not mean the opportunity to influence policy in any meaningful way. It gave the opportunity of parliamentary immunity of being charged from arrest, detention or criminal activity. It resulted in immunity and high corruption. There were regularly held elections, which were held in insecure situation and where many poor people cast their votes that were sold for the immediate finical needs. The electoral manipulation and repressive power were used for continuation of the political power in the hand of Hosni for 30 years from the year 1981 onward. Domestic security forces and services played an important role. The establishment of the single party structure with little political openness and no opposition. Political censorship, along with police brutality and arbitrary detentions with the lack of the freedom of speech and assembly was present through the authoritarian governing. Politics was mainly run by the few with implementing the legislation and expenditures without the supervision. Until the year 2005 no oppositional candidates were able to run for the president, but the Mubarak also after then managed to receive the majority of votes. The West and United States political support to the regime since the year 1970s has allowed the personal authoritarian rule (Blaydes, 2-20).
4. The major events of the uprising
On January 2011 the uprising began with protests against poverty, government corruption, unemployment and the authorial rule of the Hosni Mubarak that has been in power for 30 years. O the 25th of January protests break with clashes between police and demonstrators with using the water cannons and tear gas. Egyptians staged the nationwide demonstration with relying on the social media. The worldwide media reported from the Tahir Square protest. Hundreds of protesters were killed as Mubarak tries to crush the uprisings. The foreign countries have advised their citizens to leave the country because of the unrests and investors withdraw significant capital from the country. At the beginning of the February the Hosni Mubarak announced that he will not run for the re-election, but will not step down either by giving the promise to change the constitution to make it possible for independent candidates to run for the office and improving the economy and raising the employment rates. Even more people joined the protests around the whole country which resulted in the step down on the February 11th after the 30 years in power. The governance and power was turned over to the military (Aljazeera, n. p. and Washington Post, n. p.).
5. Changes after the uprising
The anti-government protests in Egypt began in the year 2011 with three American students being arrested. The major events that followed can be summarized in major breaking points. One of them is the step down after the 18 days of nationwide protests of the autocratic ruler of Hosni Mubarak. On the 11th February the 30 year rule of Mubarak ended. The military took over with dissolving the parliament and suspending the constitution. In the first elections after his rule the Muslim Brotherhood wins the majority of the seats and on the 19th June 2012 candidate Mohammed Morsi takes office as first freely elected presidents of Egypt. After one month on the rule Morsi unilaterally declares the changed of the constitution, which results in the new protests. In 2013 millions of citizens begin protests for his resignation. The Egyptian soldiers fired at the Morsi supporters with killing over 50 people with each side blaming the other for the violence. In August new victims of over 600 follow when police clear two Morsi sit-ins in the capital. The Islamist retaliated with violence and attacks on the police stations, churches and government buildings. The shootings, bombings and suicide attacks follow. By the end of the year 2013 the government designates the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. After many killed and sentenced to death or imprisonment the head of the military El-Sissi resigned the military and won the national elections and began the president for the four year term in 2014. The court gave a verdict about Morsi and sentences him to the 20 years in prison for being connected with the killing of protests in 2012. Mubarak and his two sons were also sentenced to prison for three years because of the corruption (Business Insider, n. p.).
The Egyptian revolution hoped for the reform and the end of oppression. Much has changed after the uprisings and demands for the greater freedom, economic relief and less corruption. The tens of thousands protested and numerous protests held to bring extreme political turbulence. Islamist has dominated the parliament, Muhammad Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was elected president, which resulted in secular oppositions with demanding and taking more power with implementing the Islamist constitution resulted in new waves of protests. The repression did not end with the al-Sisi passing the new constitution. Many activists have been locked along with the Islamists. With no visible alternatives, many have turned to violence. The jihadist movement and insurgence have resulted in even stiffer grip from the president. The country has even greater problems with employment as it had before and the competitiveness has fallen with the ranked of the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index the country is ranked on the 116, which means no prosperity and better economy the protesters wanted to achieve. With greater insecurity many have stayed without jobs and with the continuation of the country that depends also on the tourist will result in loss of finance from tourism, which has been hindered in some parts because of the insecure countries situation (The Economist, n. p.).
Egypt was confronted with various challenges after the uprising in the year 2011. The population did not expect the outcome with taking the power of someone who would continue to oppress the citizens and many illusions about democracy and free stated were destroyed.
6. Conclusion
The corruption that was the major issues prior the uprisings is still prevalent in all levels of government today. The rule of law in the country is unstable with a weak official mechanism for investigating and punishing. The country is based on The World Factbook confronted with a 34.3% rate of unemployment of which 52.2% of females and 28& of males are unemployed. It has seen the growth of the GDP in recent years. Egypt is dealing with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – ISIL which goals are to establish a global Islamic caliphate. The highly educated population with the majority of the population being younger of 24 years has a lot of issues to resolve in order to reach prosperity (The World Factbook, n. p.).
The reasons for choosing to examine the Egypt are various. There has been evidence that the Arab Spring might resulted in the positive way in reaching the stated goals of the population of Egypt and where there were seen casualties, but the protests seen did bring the results fairly soon with the stepping down of the Mubarak after less than a month after the protests. It was the country that in the 2011 looked like it will become more liberalized and democratized, but from the facts presented it is obvious that democratization cannot be achieved in a short period of time and that various different factors affect the outcomes. Unfortunately the fight in Egypt has just begun since the goals stated in the year 2011 and after in the uprising did not bring the desired outcomes. The corruption in the state is still very high, there is a persistent insurgency seen to threaten the security of the country which is also negatively impacting the country’s economy. The Arab Spring in Egypt was just the beginning of democratic changes in the country with rich history and the recent past of oppression under the 30 years of rule of Hosni Mubarak which has left many consequences on the political area and also on the society. The uprisings did not fulfil the main expectation of the population, which can result in the future uprisings.
7. Work cited
Aljazeera. Timeline: Egypt’s Revolution. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/01/201112515334871490.html
Asseburg, Muriel. Protest, Revolt and Regime Change in the Arab World: Actor, Challenges, Implications and Policy Options. German Institute for International and Security Affairs. 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. https://www.swp- berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/research_papers/2012_RP06_ass.pdf
Blaydes, Lisa. Elections and Distributive Politics in Mubarak’s Egypt. New York. Cambridge University Press. 2011. Print.
Business Insider. Key Events in Egypt Since the 2011 Uprising. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-key-events-in-egypt-since-the-2011-uprising-2015- 10
Manfreda, Prmoz. The Reasons for the Arab Spring. About News. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. http://middleeast.about.com/od/humanrightsdemocracy/tp/The-Reasons-For-The- Arab-Spring.htm
The Economist. Egypt Five Years After the Uprising. 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2016/01/economist-explains-15
The World Factbook. Egypt. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html
Washington Post. Middle East and North Africa in Turmoil. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/middle-east-protests/