IndexOriginCausesInternational impactInternational criticism and reactionsArab Spring at the UNOriginThe Arap Uprising/Spring refers to a series of popular uprisings in Arab countries that have occurred from 2010 to the present. Considered rapid by the international press, the chain of conflicts began with the Tunisian revolution in December 2010. However, Noam Chomsky, a well-known philosopher and activist, believes that the October 2010 protests in Western Sahara were the starting point of the uprisings . At first, the Western press also called it the Arab Democratic Revolution. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The uprisings are unprecedented in the Arab world, because although there have been many revolutions in the history of the secular and republican world. So far they have been characterized by the birth of military coups and the transition of governments to authoritarian measures with or without popular support, while the current situation is described by a democratic claim and a substantial improvement in living conditions. Due to the nature of their protests (democratic freedoms, political, economic and social changes), some European observers associate them with the European revolutions of 1830 and 1848 and of 1989 in Eastern Europe, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Spring Arab Although they began as popular protests, several countries have raised the issue systematically and the civil uprisings have taken on a global role. In Tunisia and Egypt, where elections were held after the fall of the government, a military coup was established in 2013: uprisings overthrew governments in a few weeks, but in countries like Libya or Syria, the government he responded by refusing to relinquish power, which led some of the population to arm themselves and start civil wars in both countries. In Libya, rebels overthrew government forces six months into the revolution with NATO help. However, in Syria, the war has been prolonged and intensified military impact, showing no imminent end, and the death toll is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands; many see the situation in Syria as the darker side of the Arab Spring, due, for example, to the emergence of the Islamic State, which has occupied large areas of both Syria and Iraq – a jihadist explosion that is also taking place in Libya at the end of the Gaddafi government. However, in the remaining countries, the rebellion was only reflected in small protests and demonstrations. This series of protests for democracy or regime or government change initially contrasted with silence from the European Union and relatively broad support from the United States. . The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, explained that the lack of European response is justified by the fact that these are not independent European states and colonies. The European Union met on 31 January 2011 to decide whether or not to support the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt; but they hardened their position against Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt, called for a peaceful solution and did not condemn his government. Early reviews of the spread of the revolution from Tunisia to its Arab neighbors did not decide its success, but publicize some generalities in countries such as autocracy and the current capacity for mobilization of the people, such as intellectuals and academics such as Azzedine Mariachi and Abdennour Benatar. The protests famously sparked calls for pro-democracy demonstrations in China, where they were quickly quashed. The Spring cost the countries of the region almost 800,000 billion dollars until 2014.CauseLaArab Democratic Revolution is considered the first massive wave of secular and democratic protests in the Arab world in the twenty-first century. The protests, of a social nature and, in the case of Tunisia, supported by the military, were caused by structural and demographic factors, harsh living conditions rooted in unemployment, combined with corrupt and authoritarian regimes. Explains Pedro Fuentes of the PSOL, these regimes, born from the Arab nationalism of the 1950s and 1970s, were becoming repressive governments that prevented a credible political opposition that would lead to a void filled by Islamic movements of various kinds. Other causes of poor living conditions, besides unemployment and the social and political injustice of their governments; they lie in the lack of freedom, the high militarization of the country and the lack of infrastructure in places where all the benefits of growing economies end up in the hands of the corrupt. Some have analyzed why these revolutions/uprisings couldn't happen sooner. It has been said that even during the Cold War the Arab countries supported Edita banishing their national interests to those of the American and Soviet superpowers, in the face of global hegemony. It is only with the end of the Cold War that, with some exceptions, these countries are granted greater political freedom, coinciding with a broad process of globalization to spread ideas, freedom of speech coming from the West and by the end of the first decade of the second millennium ended up having a significant presence of social networks, which established themselves on the Internet in 2008. The system, in turn, implemented its presence in the 2000s thanks to the development plans of the European Union. Most of the protesters were young (it is no coincidence that the protests coming from Egypt were called Youth Revolution) and the main difference with previous generations is that they have primary, and sometimes even high school and university, education. Immanuel Wallerstein sees the Arab Spring today as a second Arab revolt, heir to what he called the spirit or current of 1968 - externally colonialist and anti-authoritarian - facing internally - which was not successful in its time and which is now emerging albeit with contradictions, and should be considered a key part of global protest movements (Protests in Greece 2010-2011, 15-M Movement, Student Mobilization in Chile 2011-2013, Student Mobilizations in Colombia in 2011 and 2012, Occupy Wall Street , strikes in China in 2011). Finally, the deep economic crisis that has thrown the countries of North Africa, along with much of the rest of the earth, into even more extreme poverty, has triggered an increase in the prices of goods, causing famine among the poorest. International impact On February 12, British Foreign Secretary William Hague called on relevant governments to refrain from using power against protesters, and also for greater democratic reforms in the region. On February 21, British Prime Minister David Cameron became the first world leader to visit Egypt since the overthrow of Mubarak ten days earlier. The news blackout was lifted when the prime minister landed in Cairo for five hours, a stop that was hastily added to the start of his planned Middle East tour. As many of the world's major oil producers are Middle Eastern countries, the unrest has caused oil prices to rise. The International Monetary Fund has therefore revised its forecasts for 2011, predicting a higher price and also signaling that food prices could increase. 96 Additionally, concerns about Egypt's Suez Canal have increased oil shipping prices. Criticisms and reactionsInternational Some scholars and experts, including Slavoj Zizek and Robert Fisk, have argued that the range of international responses to the various protests, uprisings and revolutions associated with the Arab revolutions demonstrates the hypocrisy of governments in the Western world and elsewhere. Žižek denounced "the Western liberal reaction to the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, which often display hypocrisy and cynicism". When asked if he thought Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, was an "authoritarian ruler" before the modern movement ousted him from power, President Barack Obama responded that he tends to "Don't use labels for people," he said. he called him a "loyal ally in many respects of the United States of America" ​​and said Mubarak "has been a force for stability in the region." Protests in many affected countries have drawn widespread support from the international community, while brutal government responses have held sway. In the case of the protests in Bahrain, Morocco and Syria, the international response has been much more nuanced. Some critics have accused Western governments, including France, the United Kingdom and the United States, of hypocrisy in the way they responded to the protests. Noam Chomsky accused the Obama administration of trying to dampen the revolutionary wave and stifle modern democratization efforts in the Middle East. Furthermore, the role played by countries that contested the attitudes adopted by Western powers, such as Russia and China, because they were inspired by interests and objectives, was denounced. The Arab Spring at the UN On 26 September the Syrian question was taken up again by the UN. the Security Council at the level of Foreign Ministers. Formally, discussions focused on a concept paper released in Germany. The document was dedicated to cooperation between the UN Security Council and the League of Arab Nations. The secretary general of the Arab League and Western representatives used the UN Security Council as a platform to condemn Russia's appeal of its veto. Presumably this is why what would have been a fruitful cooperation between the Arab League and UN countries was blocked. In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that events in the Middle East and North Africa once again confirm the need to respect the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and above all respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. of states, non-interference in internal affairs and non-use of threat or force. Lavrov also reported that on September 26 the FMs (Foreign Ministers) of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) issued a joint statement in which they underlined the role of the press in Geneva as a basis for finding a way The Syrian crisis, unlike the draft resolutions of the Security Council, never entered into force. At the same time, activities against Syria began in the General Assembly session and in some Arab and Western capitals. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Tani, Emir of Qatar, said that given the Security Council's failure to adopt resolutions, Arab states must engage in Syria and have everything necessary to do. The failure of the UN was used as a pretext to destroy the UN structure. For example, the Icelandic Foreign Minister said, the truth is that the Security Council has become an obstacle to international efforts to resolve situations like the one in Syria. Then he added that the Syrian issue is also a wake-up call for the UN Security Council. Syria has demonstrated how mysterious the Council is and how maladapted it is to the needs.