The impact of the Arab Spring concerns protests or by the way attempts to organize growing protest movements that were inspired by or similar to the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econo ...

in the Arab-majority states of

North Africa and the Middle East MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

, according to commentators, organisers, and critics. These demonstrations and protest efforts have all been critical of the government in their respective countries, though they have ranged from calls for the incumbent government to make certain policy changes to attempts to bring down the current political system in its entirety. In some countries, protests have become large or widespread enough to effect change at the national level, as in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, while in others, such as

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

, were swiftly suppressed. Protests considered to be inspired by the Arab Spring have taken place on every inhabited continent, with varying degrees of success and prominence. On 15 October 2011, the subsidiary "Occupy" and Indignants movements inspired protests in 950 cities in 82 countries.

Background

A number of popular protests by citizens against their governments occurred in nations around the world, both following and concurrently with the Arab Spring, and many of these were reported to have been inspired by events in the Arab World starting at the end of 2010, creating a network of diffusion.Hofheinz, Albrecht
The Internet in the Arab World: Playground for Political Liberalization
International Politics and Society, 2005-03-00.Zhukov, Yuri and Stewart, Brandon
Choosing your neighbors: Networks of diffusion in international relations
Forthcoming, International Studies Quarterly (Harvard), p. 1-, 19 et seq.. Some potentially vulnerable states that have not yet seen such protests have taken a variety of preemptive measures to avoid such displays occurring in their own countries; some of these states and others have experienced political fallout as a result of their own governmental actions and reactions to events which their own citizens are seeing reported from abroad.Hroub, Khaled

Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2011-10-20.Barnett, Clive
Theory and events
Geoforum, 42(3), pp. 263–265, 2011.Dunn, Alexandra, The Arab Spring: Revolution and Shifting Geopolitics: Unplugging a Nation: State Media Strategy During Egypt's January 25 Uprising, 35 Fletcher F. World Aff. 15, Summer, 2011.

Africa

Djibouti

On 2 February, demonstrations began when about three hundred people protested peacefully against President

Ismail Omar Guelleh Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...

Djibouti City Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and in many early English texts and on many early maps, Jibuti; so, Magaalada Jabuuti, french: link=no, Ville de Djibouti, ar, مدينة جيبوتي, aa, Gabuutî Magaala) is the eponymous capital of Dji ...

, urging him to not run for another term; the protesters further asked for more liberty as well as for political and social reform. Protests soon increased, however, as thousands rallied against the president, many vowing to remain at the site until their demands were met. On 18 February, an estimated 30,000 Dijiboutians protested in central Djibouti City against the president, maintaining that the constitutional change of the previous year, which allowed him a third term, was illegal. The demonstration escalated into clashes with the police, and at least two persons were killed and many injured when police used live ammunition and teargas against the protesters. On 19 and 24 February, protest leaders were arrested and after they failed to turn up on the 24th, opposition leader Bourhan Mohammed Ali stated he feared the protests had lost momentum. The last protest was planned for 11 March, but security forces stopped the protest and detained 4 opposition leaders. No protests or planned protests have occurred since.

Ivory Coast

In Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), peace activist Aya Virginie Toure organized thousands of women in numerous peaceful protests across the country. They were met by security forces with tanks that opened fire. In an impassioned interview on

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, Toure compared the

Second Ivorian Civil War The Second Ivorian Civil War broke out in March 2011 when the crisis in Ivory Coast escalated into full-scale military conflict between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the President of Ivory Coast since 2000, and supporters of the internationa ...

to the 2011 Libyan civil war and asked for support from the international community. She called for military intervention to remove

Laurent Gbagbo Koudou Laurent Gbagbo
, FPI website . ( Henry Odein Ajumogobia accused the international community of "contradictions" by imposing a no-fly zone over Libya and focusing on the civil war in Libya, but failing to take action to protect civilians in the Ivory Coast. Oil production in Libya is seen as a more strategic commodity than cocoa in the Ivory Coast, which influenced the international response to the turmoil facing both countries.

Gabon

On 29 January, riot police in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

fired tear gas to break up a protest by around 5,000 opposition supporters, where according to witnesses, up to 20 people were wounded. It was the second such protest since opposition leader Andre Mba Obame declared himself president on January 25 and urged people to take inspiration from the

Tunisian Revolution The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...

. Obame subsequently hid out in the local

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

office, while President

Ali Bongo Ondimba Ali Bongo Ondimba (born Alain Bernard Bongo; 9 February 1959),"Bongo Ali", ''Gabon: Les hommes de pouvoir'', number 4Africa Intelligence 5 March 2002 . sometimes known as Ali Bongo, is a Gabonese politician who has been the third president of Ga ...

shut down TV stations and allegedly kidnapped members of the opposition. The UN is accusing Gabon's police of invading and beating students within the university. Although initial protests overwhelmingly consisted of opposition loyalists, the unrest appears to be developing into a wider social conflict, with students leading the protests.

Malawi

Mali

A Tuareg rebellion in early 2012 that forced the armed forces of

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

, a

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

n country with significant holdings in the Sahara, to withdraw south of the line the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) claimed as the

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Alg ...

homeland's southwestern frontier by April. The conflict was exacerbated by a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

by the

Malian Armed Forces The Malian Armed Forces (french: links=no, Forces Armées Maliennes) consists of the Army (french: Armée de Terre, links=no), Republic of Mali Air Force (french: Force Aérienne de la Republique du Mali, links=no), and National Guard (french: G ...

that forced President

Amadou Toumani Toure Amadou is a spongy material derived from ''Fomes fomentarius'' and similar fungi that grow on the bark of coniferous and angiosperm trees, and have the appearance of a horse's hoof (thus the name "hoof fungus"). It is also known as the "tinder fun ...

from power and briefly installed a junta in

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger Rive ...

, the capital. With government forces pushed to Mopti and southward by the MNLA and other armed groups, including

Ansar Dine Ansar Dine ( ar, أنصار الدين ''ʾAnṣār ad-Dīn'', also transliterated ''Ançar Deen''; meaning " helpers of the religion" (Islam) also known as Ansar al-Din (abbreviated as AAD) was a Salafi jihadist group led by Iyad Ag Ghaly. An ...

and the

Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MOJWA) or the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (abbreviated MUJWA; ar, جماعة التوحيد والجهاد في غرب أفريقيا ''Jamāʿat at-tawḥīd wal-jih ...

, the MNLA's secretary general,

Bilal Ag Acherif Bilal Ag Acherif () (born 1977 in Kidal Region, Mali, last name alternatively spelled Cherif) is the Secretary-General of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and president of a briefly independent Azawad. In 1993, he left M ...

, declared

Azawad Azawad, or Azawagh (Tuareg: Azawaɣ, or Azawad; ar, أزواد) was a short-lived unrecognised state from 2012 to 2013. Azawagh (''Azawaɣ'') is the generic Tuareg Berber name of all Tuareg Berber areas, especially the northern half of Mali ...

an independent state on 6 April 2012. ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', among other media outlets, has drawn a connection between the secular MNLA's vision for a democratic Azawad to the Arab Spring revolts, though as with many of the uprisings in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, Islamist factions have contested this view of Azawad's future. Ansar Dine has called for '' sharia'' law throughout all of Mali, not just Azawad. The

Azawadi declaration of independence On 6 April 2012, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (French acronym: MNLA) unilaterally declared Azawad independent from the Republic of Mali in the wake of a rebellion which was preceded by a string of other Tuareg rebellions. ...

has also faced significant pushback from the international community, with no state or international body recognising the ''de facto'' state and the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

(ECOWAS) mulling options for an international military intervention against the rebels. The rebellion and coup have been described as "fallout" from the Arab Spring, as the success of the Tuareg rebellion where it had failed in previous efforts throughout the 20th century has been attributed largely to heavy weaponry carted out of

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

by Tuareg fighters on either side of the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

in 2011.

Mozambique

According to

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

, a 2011 protest in Mozambique was related to the Arab Spring. An elite police unit crushed a workers' protest on 6 April, detaining a number of demonstrators and leaving several injured. At least one protester died as a result of the crackdown. The Mozambican Human Rights League called for an investigation and demanded the commander of the unit step down.

Uganda

Ugandan }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

President

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

was declared the winner of Uganda's 2011 general election on 11 February amidst opposition denunciations. Kizza Besigye, the chairman of the opposition coalition finished second with 26.01% of the vote. Besigye warned that Uganda was ripe for an Egypt-style revolt after Museveni's more than two decades in power. The protesters failed to amass in large numbers because, as the ''

Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

'' suggested, a failure to tally its own results through its own SMS system was disrupted by the government, who also arrested hundreds of opposition field agents. They also suggested that Besigye did not believe his own claim of sparking a revolution. With unrest growing at the rising prices of food and fuel, the arrest of Kizza Besigye on 28 April was the catalyst for protests and riots across the Ugandan capital,

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, in which two were killed.

Zimbabwe

Munyaradzi Gwisai, a former opposition member of the

Parliament of Zimbabwe The Parliament of Zimbabwe is the bicameral legislature of Zimbabwe composed of the Senate and the National Assembly. The Senate is the upper house, and consists of 80 members, 60 of whom are elected by proportional representation from ten six-m ...

, organised a meeting to discuss the uprisings in North Africa on 21 February. He, along with 45 others, were arrested and allegedly tortured and face a charge of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

that carries the death penalty. Many Zimbabwean migrants to South Africa, who number in the hundreds of thousands, are free to talk of the events. However, past violence in elections and many of the youth and educated middle classes having fled the country there were questions about the pool of protesters to carry out such actions. A Million Citizen March called for in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

on 1 March went unheeded after a heavy police presence since 26 February continued and a curfew was declared on the night of 28 February.

Europe

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Greece

2010–12 Greek protests were a series of demonstrations and general strikes taking place across Greece. Greek protesters had taken its lead from the Arab spring.

Russia

In March 2012 Sergei Mironov, running in the

2012 Russian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Russia on 4 March 2012. There were five officially registered candidates: four representatives of registered parties, and one nominal independent. The election was the first one held after constitutional amend ...

, said that: "Whoever wins the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

, if he does not immediately begin deep political and social reforms ..Russia will be shaken by a kind of Arab Spring within two years." The ''

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

'' pointed out that since Mironov is a former ally of

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, he could have been trying to scaremonger "as a subtle way of endorsing a crackdown on street demonstrations that are expected in the days after the vote". Imprisoned oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky has claimed that the protests which followed the 2011 Russian elections were inspired by the example of the Arab Spring.''Russia will stand up to Putin, says jailed former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky''
Guardian, retrieved 26/2/2012 He told the Guardian newspaper, "We have only to reflect on the events in countries swept up in the Arab Spring to recognise the transformation taking place in the compact between the rulers and the ruled. While there are certainly many differences between those countries and Russia, there are some fundamental similarities."

Spain

Turkey

In Turkey supporters of the

Peace and Democracy Party The Peace and Democracy Party ( tr, Barış ve Demokrasi Partisi, ku, Partiya Aştî û Demokrasiyê, BDP) was a Kurdish political party in Turkey existing from 2008 to 2014. Development BDP succeeded the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 20 ...

(BDP), the main pro-Kurdish party, have demonstrated against the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government before and after the general elections. In 2013, protesters started a stand in a silent protest at

Gezi Park Taksim Gezi Park is an urban park next to Taksim Square, in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district (historically known as Pera.) It is one of the last green spaces in Beyoğlu and one of the smallest parks of Istanbul. In May 2013, plans to replace the ...

, opposing a plan allegedly demolishing the park. The police intervention sparked bigger anti-government

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

. The protesters included many leftists, including CHP and BDP party supporters.

Ukraine

The term "Ukrainian Spring" is sometimes used in reference to the

, which was triggered by similar causes such as heavy-handed authoritarianism, widespread official corruption,

kleptocracy Kleptocracy (from Ancient Greek, Greek κλέπτης ''kléptēs'', "thief", κλέπτω ''kléptō'', "I steal", and -κρατία -''kratía'' from κράτος ''krátos'', "power, rule") is a government whose Corruption, corrupt leaders ...

, and lack of opportunity.Kerry in Moldova Supports Ukrainian 'Spring'
Photo Essay: The Ukrainian Spring
/ref>

United Kingdom

Asia

Armenia

Regional unrest reached

in January as merchants protested a ban on street trading in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, the former Soviet socialist republic's capital. Protesters marched in front of municipal offices and called for Mayor Karen Karapetyan to "come down", demanding that the ban be lifted. Seizing on this rising discontent in the capital city, the

Armenian National Congress The Armenian National Congress ( hy, italic=yes, Հայ Ազգային Կոնգրես, translit=Hay Azgayin Kongres) is an Armenian political party led by former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan and formed in 2008. Its direct predecessor was the P ...

, led by former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, started organizing larger, more sharply politicized rallies in Yerevan in February. Rallies have drawn tens of thousands and have continued through April. Protesters demand the release of political prisoners, socio-economic reforms, full access to Yerevan's Freedom Square, and that perpetrators of violence against opposition supporters in the wake of the 2008 presidential election be brought to justice. The government has made three major concessions: agreeing to revive and step up a hereto stagnant investigation of the 2008 protest deaths, opening Freedom Square to political rallies from 28 April forward, and issuing a general amnesty covering jailed activists the opposition considers to be political prisoners. President

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

said in late April that he believed in cooperation between the government and the opposition and that his government was willing to make the "first steps" toward a compromise.

Azerbaijan

Youth activists and opposition leaders, inspired by events of the Arab Spring, called for demonstrations on 11 and 12 March. The government responded with a crackdown on gatherings and widespread detentions.

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

reported that at least 150 activists were arrested in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

during March. Police arrested close to 300 demonstrators in April, detaining at least four journalists covering the incident as well. Dozens more protesters, including at least one journalist who was later released, were arrested in May.

China

China unintentionally played a role in the Arab Spring due to the effects of a winter wheat crop failure and a massive Chinese drought that occurred in January 2011. This massive drought led the Chinese to buy wheat on the international market, henceforth doubling prices and leading to civil unrest in Egypt – the world’s largest wheat importer. Egypt’s geography and population size have led to their dependence on international wheat imports. China’s domestic efforts to alleviate the drought had serious repercussions in Egypt, where food riots spurred further civil unrest. These food riots weakened government legitimacy and destabilized the country. This served as a stepping-stone for subsequent civil unrest in Egypt.Sternberg, T. (2012.) Chinese drought, bread and the Arab Spring. Applied Geography. 34, 519-524. There were calls made via social networks such as

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

to begin a "Jasmine Revolution" in China. Chinese authorities arrested activists, increased the normal police presence, disabled some cell phone

text messaging Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/laptops, or another type of compatible comput ...

services and deleted Internet postings about protests planned for 14:00 on 20 February in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

and 11 other cities. On the day of the protests, the police turned out en masse to all of the potential protest locations in various cities around the country. Small crowds, including a large number of foreign journalists, gathered at the planned site in

and

but did not chant slogans or hold signs. CPC General Secretary and President Hu Jintao responded by calling top

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

leaders into a "study session" to root out and tackle social issues before they "become threats to stability". In a speech at the

Central Party School The Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party (), commonly known as the Central Party School (), located in Beijing, is the higher education institution which trains Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres. As of 2012, it has around 1,6 ...

, Hu called out for tighter restrictions to the internet. Chinese Premier

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic polic ...

promised to curb

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...

and punish corruption in what was seen as an attempt to curb protests. He also promised to boost food supplies and to control surging property prices. A heavy police presence was also reported in planned protest cities of Beijing and Shanghai. He said that fighting inflation was an important economic priority in order to curb social unrest. During an interview given to

Jeffrey Goldberg Jeffrey Mark Goldberg (born September 22, 1965) is an American journalist and editor-in-chief of ''The Atlantic'' magazine. During his nine years at ''The Atlantic'' prior to becoming editor, Goldberg became known for his coverage of foreign affa ...

of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'',

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

responded to Goldberg's comment: "

Chinese government The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, m ...

seemed scared of the Arab rising": "Well, they are. They're worried, and they are trying to stop history, which is a fool's errand. They cannot do it. But they're going to hold it off as long as possible."

Tibetan government-in-exile

In March 2011, the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso announced that he would step down from his political office as the leader of the

Tibetan government-in-exile The Central Tibetan Administration (, , ), often referred to as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, is a non-profit political organization based in Dharamshala, India. Its organization is modeled after an elective parliamentary government, compo ...

, making way for the election of a

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. The move was read of splitting the political and religious authority of the Tibetan leadership-in-exile. He called the rule of

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

spiritual leaders "outdated" and added: "I do not want to be like

Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...

." An election took place on 20 March 2011 and the new prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile is Lobsang Sangay.

Iraqi Kurdistan

Protests broke out in

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also inc ...

, an autonomous region of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, on 21 February. They continued until martial law was declared in late April and the

Peshmerga The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, ...

, supported by the regular Iraqi Army, was deployed to quell the unrest.

Iran

On 9 February, various Iranian opposition groups requested permission from the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

to protest under the supervision of the

Iranian police , mottotranslated = "Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity" ( Heraldry slogan) , formedyear = 1991 , formedmonthday = April 1 , preceding1 = Shahrbani (1913–1991)Gendarmerie (1910–1991)Committee (1979–1991) , em ...

. Permission was refused. Despite this setback, along with crackdowns on activists and members of opposition parties, opposition leaders such as Mir Hossein Mousavi and

Mehdi Karroubi Mehdi Karroubi ( fa, مهدی کروبی, Mehdi Karrubi, born 26 September 1937) is an Iranian Shia cleric and reformist politician leading the National Trust Party. Following 2009–2010 Iranian election protests, Karroubi was put under house a ...

called for nationwide protest marches to begin on 14 February. Rumours suggested that the protesters would include university students, lorry drivers, and gold merchants from across the country, who were protesting under the umbrella opposition known as the Green movement the re-emergence of which had been inspired by the recent events in Egypt and Tunisia. The

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

promised to forcefully confront protesters, and opposition activists and aides to Mousavi and Karroubi were arrested in the days leading up to the demonstrations. Estimates of the number of protesters ranged from 'thousands' to 'hundreds of thousands', depending on the source. Reports from the demonstrations described clashes between protesters and security forces in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. As part of the government strategy, security forces of approximately 10,000 personnel were deployed to prevent protesters from gathering at

Azadi Square The Azadi Square ( fa, میدان آزادی, translit=Meydāne Āzādī, lit=Freedom Square), formerly known as Shahyad Square ( Persian: میدان شهیاد ''Meydāne Ŝahyād'' literally means "''Remembrance of heShah Square''"), is a mai ...

, where the marches that had originated in Enghelab, Azadi, and Vali-Asr streets were expected to converge. Police reportedly fired tear gas and used pepper spray and batons to disperse protesters. Protesters responded by setting fires in garbage bins. Clashes were also reported in Isfahan.

Israel

The 2011 Israeli housing protests (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: מחאת הדיור or מחאת הנדל"ן or מחאת האוהלים) are a series of ongoing street demonstrations taking place throughout

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

from 14 July 2011 onwards, and they have included the largest demonstration ever seen in the country, which took place on September 3, 2011 and had 460,000 protesters throughout the country, including 300,000 protestors in Tel Aviv alone. The protests began after a

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

protest group led hundreds of people to camp in tents in the center of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

Rothschild Boulevard Rothschild Boulevard (, ''Sderot Rotshild'') is one of the principal streets in the center of Tel Aviv, Israel, beginning in Neve Tzedek at its southwestern edge and running north to Habima Theatre. It is one of the most expensive streets in the ...

. The movement soon gained momentum and began a public discourse in Israel regarding the high cost of housing and living expenses. The protests quickly spread to many other

cities in Israel This list includes localities that are in Israel that the Israeli Ministry of Interior has designated as a city council. Jerusalem includes occupied East Jerusalem. The list is based on the current index of the Israel Central Bureau of Statis ...

as thousands of Israeli protesters began camping in tents in the middle of central streets as a means of protest. The protesters object to the increase in housing prices in Israel, and especially in the country's major cities. It has been suggested in the media and scholarly research that the protests have been inspired by the ongoing

, The Israeli protests have generally been

non-violent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

Malaysia

On 9 June 2011, Malaysians protested in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

against electoral fraud perpetrated by the ruling party

Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 ...

. Barisan Nasional and its predecessor, Parti Perikatan (the ''Alliance Party''), has been Malaysia's federal ruling force since independence from the British in 1957.

Maldives

Early on 1 May 2011, protests began in the Maldives as thousands of protesters demonstrated in

Male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

demanding that President Mohamed Nasheed step down. Police were sent in to break up the protests. Dozens were injured and many people were arrested during the demonstrations. Protests continued the following day too. The main causes for the protests were soaring

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing ...

and rising unemployment. The main opposition party in the nation, the DRP (Maldivian People's Party), said that "currency devaluation has increased the price of essentials". Protests continued for a week but temporarily died down. Protests again began late in the year and led to the resignation of the president in February 2012 which is debated amongst legal experts and in the diplomatic arena as a coup. A report by an independent team of international lawyers and human rights experts headed by Associate Professor of International Law at Copenhagen University Anders Henriksen is available.

Myanmar

A protest campaign to "attempt to emulate the democratic revolution in Egypt that was sparked by a Facebook campaign" started in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

on 13 February 2011, coordinating via a

page titled "Just Do It Against Military Dictatorship". Anti-government material was distributed in several places around the country, including Mandalay and

Taunggyi Taunggyi ( ; Shan: ; Pa'O: ) is the capital and largest city of Shan State, Myanmar (Burma) and lies on the Thazi-Kyaingtong road at an elevation of , just north of Shwenyaung and Inle Lake within the Myelat region. Taunggyi is the fifth la ...

. More than 1000 activists support the campaign. An intense series of anti-government street protests had earlier taken place from September to November 2007.

North Korea

The South Korean military dropped leaflets with information about the protests in Egypt and Libya into

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

, in an attempt to induce political change in its northern neighbor, with whom it has technically been at war (the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

ended in an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

without a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

) since the 1950s. North Korea threatened to take military action if South Korea continued to drop leaflets fomenting revolt, the

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onli ...

reported. According to reports in the South Korean media, there have been small pockets of protests in North Korea. North Korea responded internally by censoring all news of the Arab Spring, banning all public demonstrations, and stationing

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the '' Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General S ...

tanks in

Kim Il-sung Square __NOTOC__ Kim Il-sung Square is a large city square in the Central District of Pyongyang, North Korea, and is named after the country's founding leader, Kim Il-sung. The square was constructed in 1954 according to a master plan for reconstructing ...

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

Vietnam

Nguyen Dan Que, a prominent critic of the Vietnamese government, was arrested on 26 February 2011 because security services said he was caught "red-handed keeping and distributing documents" that called for the overthrow of the government in a Middle East-style uprising. On 5 June, nearly a thousand people marched against China in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

and Ho Chi Minh City over the

South China Sea dispute Territorial disputes in the South China Sea involve conflicting island and maritime claims in the region by several sovereign states, namely Brunei, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), Indonesia, Malaysia, Ph ...

. This is one of the largest and most prominent public protest that is not condoned by the government in history of communist Vietnam.

The Americas

Starting with the February protests in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

a number of Arab Spring inspired movements have waxed and waned in both Americas, some being violent, others not. On 15 October, there were thousands of demonstrations throughout the two continents, some in countries such as

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, which had not suffered such unrest before.

Bolivia

On 10 February the

President of Bolivia The president of Bolivia ( es, Presidente de Bolivia), officially known as the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia ( es, Presidente del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia), is head of state and head of government of Bolivia and the ca ...

Evo Morales Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to c ...

, cancelled an appearance at a public event in

Oruro Oruro (Hispanicized spelling) or Uru Uru is a city in Bolivia with a population of 264,683 (2012 calculation), about halfway between La Paz and Sucre in the Altiplano, approximately above sea level. It is Bolivia's fifth-largest city by pop ...

due to fears over riots after protesters angry about rising

and Morales' style of government reportedly planted explosives there. Morales was said to be "on guard" in the wake of the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings according to

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

. Protests against the president were also reported in several of the country's major cities. On 29 September, thousands of people marched to protest Morales' attacks on indigenous people over highway construction. He later apologized. From the 28th April onwards,

indigenous peoples in Bolivia Indigenous peoples in Bolivia, or Native Bolivians, are Bolivian people who are of indigenous ancestry. They constitute anywhere from 40 to 70% of Bolivia's population of 11,306,341, depending on different estimates, and belong to 36 recognized ...

protested against the construction of the Villa Tunari – San Ignacio de Moxos Highway.

Brazil

Brazil witnessed minor protests associated with the

Occupy Movement The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and econo ...

during 2011 and 2012, but then endogenous social events and discourses led to massive and widespread protest during June 2013. While not directly sparked by the events in the Arab world, a new generation of Brazilians saw themselves in a similar situation as the Arab youth: alienated and marginalized from government and other public institutions, suffering increasingly high

costs of living Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a cer ...

and inaccessible social services, and finding fewer employment and other social opportunities. Most significantly, the media exposure of popular protests taking over streets and overthrowing governments provided a new generation of Brazilians with the idea that popular uprisings can indeed be highly successful. The 2013 protests in Brazil are ongoing public demonstrations in several Brazilian cities, initiated mainly by the Movimento Passe Livre (Free Fare Movement), a local entity that advocates for free public transportation. The demonstrations were initially organized to protest against increases in bus, train, and metro ticket prices in some Brazilian cities, but grew to include other issues such as the high corruption in the government and police brutality used against some demonstrators. By the end of June 2013, the movement had grown to become Brazil's largest since the 1980s movement against the military dictatorship and for direct elections, called

Diretas Já Diretas Já (, ''Direct (Elections) Now'') was a civil unrest movement which, in 1984, demanded direct presidential elections in Brazil. Participants of the movement The movement brought together diverse elements of Brazilian society. Participa ...

. It is notable that popular and working class organizations established during the 1980s - such as the ruling Workers' Party (PT), the Unified Workers Central (CUT), and the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) - did not play any role leading these protests, and in fact most street protesters do not find themselves represented by the Workers' Party government of

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first ...

Ecuador

Mexico

Mass demonstrations have occurred against Mexican President

Felipe Calderón Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 1 December 2006 to 30 November 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 ...

, calling for an end to the Mexican Drug War, citing inspiration from the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. In May 2012 students and other youth, supported by farmers and unionized workers began a protest against the

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 and held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000, first as the Nati ...

, the former ruling party, and their presidential candidate, Enrique Peña Nieto. Their chief grievance is the claim that, in their coverage of the 2012 Mexican general election, 2012 Mexican presidential election, the national television duopoly Televisa and TV Azteca have been biased towards Peña Nieto, who leads the polls with one month to go When their protest was dismissed as paid for and ignored by the Mass media in Mexico, Mexican mass media, hundreds protested in front of Televisa's studios, and at least 46,000 people responded by taking their protest to Mexico City's main avenue. The protest movement use the slogan ''Yo Soy 132'' - "I am 132", which echos the Occupy movement's slogan "We are the 99%". The protest movement has also been described as "the Mexican Spring" in local media.

United States

A series of demonstrations took place in the United States, starting on 14 February 2011 and continuing , involving tens of thousands of protestors including Trade union, union members, students, and other citizens. The protests main aims relate to collective bargaining legislation and took place mainly around the Wisconsin State Capitol, located in Madison, Wisconsin, with smaller protests in the cities of Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin, Green Bay, at various university campuses including the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and spread to another US state capital, Columbus, Ohio. The protests were considered to be inspired by the 2011 Egyptian revolution by the chairman of the United States House Committee on the Budget, Paul Ryan and the Great Recession in the United States, Late-2000s recession. Linguist Noam Chomsky said that the Wisconsin protests and the Egyptian revolution "are closely intertwined", and that both consist of "struggles for labor rights and democracy". Mike Lux, a political consultant, stated that some of the protestors in Wisconsin and Ohio carried Egyptian flags and that "the pictures we are seeing and the story playing out in Wisconsin is like Egypt in some really important ways. The new mass militancy ... is a mass movement spreading like wildfire, building in momentum day by day." On September 17, 2011, protests called "Occupy Wall Street" sprung up around New York City's Financial District, Manhattan, financial district Wall Street. The protests responded to recent Government intervention during the subprime mortgage crisis, government bailouts for financial institutions and the growing Income inequality in the United States, income inequality in America during the Great Recession. This movement would come to be called the "Occupy" protests, "Occupy" movement, which have sprung up in cities across the United States and in some countries around the world.

Oceania

Fiji

The New Zealand branch of human rights group Amnesty International reported that soldiers in the archipelago state of Fiji, under military rule since the 2006 Fijian coup d'état, were increasingly resorting to beatings, abuse, and even torture to enforce order, allegedly detaining and abusing opposition members, unionists, and youth activists for planning a protest against the junta in late February. Amnesty CEO Patrick Holmes said he believed the more violent tactics are intended to thwart a Middle East-inspired uprising against the junta in Fiji. A Fiji pro-democracy group based in Sydney called for an international response to the alleged crackdown, comparing the situation in Fiji to the situation in Libya. On 7 March, ''The Australian'' reported that a former government minister declared his intent to seek asylum in Australia, claiming Fiji soldiers had detained and tortured him. The Fiji military has denied this, with a highly placed officer telling Radio Australia that soldiers only use "some minimal force" when making arrests and denying any knowledge of either planned protests or martial action in response on the part of the military or police. One expert on Politics of Fiji, Fiji politics told Radio New Zealand that he believed unrest within the Republic of Fiji Military Forces was a greater threat to Commodore Frank Bainimarama's rule than popular protests like those in Tunisia and Egypt, but said it was hard to know what the junta's thinking was. New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said his government was seeking more information on the alleged beatings, echoing concerns expressed by the Australian government. The Fiji Human Rights Commission said that while it hasn't received any recent complaints directly, it is monitoring the situation and trying to check up on published allegations.

Censorship and preemptive actions

Ethiopia

Following Ben Ali's flight from Tunisia, the Ethiopian government said there would be a cap on the prices of essential foods. Journalist Eskinder Nega was warned after he wrote about the events in Egypt. He was subsequently imprisoned for criticising Human rights in Ethiopia, human rights abuses in Ethiopia.

Equatorial Guinea

The government of Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Teodoro Obiang, who has ruled the Equatorial Guinea for 32 years, censored news about the protests.

Eritrea

The state-owned news agency censors news about the events. Independent media has been banned since 2001.

Kazakhstan

On 31 January 2011, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev decided to scrap a 2011 Kazakhstani presidential term referendum, referendum which would have handed him a third decade in power by skipping elections due in 2012 and 2017. Nazarbayev supported the Constitutional Council's ruling that such a referendum would be unconstitutional and called an 2011 Kazakhstani presidential election, early election to be held on 3 April 2011. He also planned to offer the citizens of Kazakhstan discounted shares in some key national companies as part of a series of "People's Initial public offering, IPOs" saying that "This is an event of paramount importance to the state...The whole world is earning money on stock markets and citizens of Kazakhstan should also learn how to do this." However, some critics suggested this was "window dressing", saying Nazarbayev merely was trying to deflect claims that too much wealth was controlled by a "corrupt, ruling elite." News media in South Africa have warned of a possible "Egypt effect" in Russia and the Post-Soviet states, former Soviet Union.

Nigeria

The media in Nigeria speculated that similar events could take place there as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta in the south or Boko Haram in the north could exploit the "distortions within the Nigerian system, and the anger of an aggrieved segment of the populace." In the first week of February Boko Haram also threatened the Nigerian government that it would carry out a "full scale war."

Turkmenistan

At least one well-regarded political analyst (published by ''Foreign Policy (magazine), Foreign Policy'' and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) said that conditions in the Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan were similar enough to those in countries currently experiencing protests and revolts that the autocratic government of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov appears worried by the precedent of revolutions in North Africa and major concession (politics), political concessions in several Western Asian states. Berdimuhamedov's regime has censored all news of the protests and governmental changes. There have also been some credible reports of Turkmenistani authorities attempting to keep tabs on all citizens both inside and outside the country, with Turkmenistanis whom the government judges to have spent too much time abroad allegedly warned they could be barred either from returning to their home country, or from leaving again once they do return.

Uzbekistan

The Uzbekistani government embraced a set of parliamentary reforms in late March that will grant the Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan, Legislative Chamber of the Supreme Assembly of Uzbekistan, Supreme Assembly, a democratically elected body, a stronger ability to check the power of the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, prime minister by allowing it to call a motion of no confidence, as well as empowering both houses of the Supreme Assembly to "demand information" from the executive branch, according to one Uzbekistani senator involved with the reform initiative. At least one prominent political analyst at an Interior Ministry-affiliated university in Tashkent said the reforms were inspired by recent revolutionary events in the Middle East and 2010 Kyrgyzstani uprising, Kyrgyzstan, asserting that democratization and government accountability and not violence are the means to forestalling popular upheaval.

Political fallout

France

On 28 February 2011 French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie resigned after a month of pressure following allegations she offered French military assistance to ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and that she vacationed in Tunisia during the unrest.

Israel

As the protests in Egypt began, Israel Defense Forces Intelligence Chief Aviv Kochavi stated the Egyptian government was not in danger of collapsing.

United Kingdom

The London School of Economics' Howard Davies resigned over the institution's monetary support from Libya.

United States

President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, CIA Director Leon Panetta, Secretary of State

, and other high-ranking officials and government agencies were caught by surprise over the uprisings, accused of presiding over a massive intelligence failure and being caught "flat footed." Panetta, Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg, Director of Intelligence James Clapper,"US intelligence chief James Clapper defends Egypt intel"
February 10, 2011. BBC. Accessed March 9, 2011 and FBI Director Robert Mueller appeared before the 112th Congress's first United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, House Permanent Select Committee of Intelligence hearing to testify about Egypt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Impact of the Arab Spring Impact of the Arab Spring, 2010 in international relations 2011 in international relations 2012 in international relations 2013 in international relations 2014 in international relations Impact of revolutions, Arab Spring

Background

Africa

Djibouti

Ivory Coast

Gabon

Malawi

Mali

Mozambique

Uganda

Zimbabwe

Europe

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Greece

Russia

Spain

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Asia

Armenia

Azerbaijan

China

Tibetan government-in-exile

Iraqi Kurdistan

Iran

Israel

Malaysia

Maldives

Myanmar

North Korea

Vietnam

The Americas

Bolivia

Brazil

Ecuador

Mexico

United States

Oceania

Fiji

Censorship and preemptive actions

Ethiopia

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Kazakhstan

Nigeria

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

Political fallout

France

Israel

United Kingdom

United States

See also

References