Arab Spring

A wave of protests and uprisings that began in Tunisia in 2010 and spread across the Arab world, challenging authoritarian governments.

Tunisian Revolution: The 2010–2011 uprising that toppled Tunisia’s president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Its success inspired protests elsewhere and gave the Arab Spring its starting point.
Social media and the Arab Spring: The use of online platforms to share information and coordinate during uprisings in the Arab world. Online communication helped circulate protest calls and images across national borders.
Egyptian Revolution of 2011: The mass uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak to resign in February 2011. Egypt’s revolution illustrates both the scale of popular mobilization and the fragility of its gains.
2013 Egyptian coup d'état: The Egyptian military’s removal of President Mohamed Morsi from power in July 2013. The coup reversed the country’s brief experiment with elected civilian rule after Mubarak.
Resource curse: The tendency for resource-rich economies to experience weaker institutions or poorer development outcomes than expected. Oil wealth shaped rulers’ capacity to resist pressure and influenced the stakes of regional politics.
Mohamed Bouazizi: A Tunisian street vendor whose self-immolation in December 2010 became a catalyst for mass protests. His protest focused attention on the humiliation and economic hardship fueling Tunisia’s revolt.
Nonviolent resistance: Collective action that seeks political change without using physical violence against opponents. Many early demonstrations relied on marches, strikes, and other forms of nonviolent pressure.
Libyan Civil War: The 2011 conflict between Muammar Gaddafi’s government and armed opposition forces in Libya. Libya shows how an uprising escalated into armed conflict and foreign military intervention.
Syrian refugee crisis: The mass displacement of people fleeing the Syrian conflict, both within Syria and across its borders. The Syrian uprising’s transformation into war produced a vast regional and international displacement crisis.
Political opportunity structure: The features of a political environment that enable or constrain collective action. Differences in state institutions and coercive capacity help account for divergent national outcomes.

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