Scribd
Upload
126 views

The Arab Spring: Anthropology of Revolutions

The document provides an overview of the Arab Spring protests that began in late 2010 and spread across many Middle Eastern and North African countries in 2011. It discusses the spontaneous and diverse nature of the uprisings, their region-wide impact, major events and outcomes in different countries, as well as characteristics including calls for freedom, dignity, and an end to corruption and authoritarian regimes.

Uploaded by

Sammy Underwood
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
126 views

The Arab Spring: Anthropology of Revolutions

The document provides an overview of the Arab Spring protests that began in late 2010 and spread across many Middle Eastern and North African countries in 2011. It discusses the spontaneous and diverse nature of the uprisings, their region-wide impact, major events and outcomes in different countries, as well as characteristics including calls for freedom, dignity, and an end to corruption and authoritarian regimes.

Uploaded by

Sammy Underwood
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 25

The Arab Spring

Anthropology of Revolutions
A WORLD HISTORICAL MOMENT
A WORLD HISTORICAL MOMENT
bread
freedom
dignity
Learning Goals for this Session
• What was the “Arab Spring”
• A long view
• Anthropology of revolution
– Social movement
– Gendered
– Youth & social media
– Aesthetics
• Egypt
Dec. 17, 2010,
Mohamed Bouazizi, a
Tunisian fruit seller, set
himself on fire to
protest police
corruption.
Protests followed in
Oman, Yemen, Egypt,
Syria, Morocco,
Tunisia, Saudi Arabia….
Jan. 14, 2011, Zine al-
Abidine Ben Ali, 23-
year ruler of Tunis,
Arab Revolts: 2011 resigned & fled to
Saudi Arabia.
and Beyond
Tunisian National Anthem
If, one day, a people desires to live
Then fate will answer their call
Darkness must dissipate
And must the chain give way
“The People Want the
Fall of the Regime”

Jan. 25, 2011, 1000s of protesters in


Tahrir Square, Egypt, demand Hosni
Mubarak’s resignation.
Feb. 11, 2011, Mubarak resigns and
turns power over to the Supreme
Council of the Armed Forces.
Feb. 15, protests against Muammar
Qaddafi
March 15, Protests begin in Syria
Oct. 9-10, Coptic Christians protest
destruction of church and army kills
many protesters.
Oct. 20, Muammar Qaddafi captured
& killed.
Protests in Iraq, Algeria, Iran,
Lebanon, Jordan, Oman, Sudan.
Large-scale conflict followed in Syria,
Iraq, Libya, Yemen.
Photo: The “Friday of Victory” after
Hosni Mubarak’s fall, Tahrir Square.
Lara Baladi, 2/18/2011.
Major Characteristics of the Uprisings
• Spontaneous
– Governments, citizens, and academics failed to predict large-scale
protests 
– Demonstrations occurred with minimal central planning 
– Protests were organic and lacked major leaders or organizational
capacity
• Diverse
– Joined by various segments of society: leftists, seculars, Islamists,
women, and liberals
• Region-wide
– Unrest touched every country in the Middle East, from the Atlantic
coast to the Gulf
•   “From Iraq to Lebanon and back: the people
want the fall of the regime“
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-
africa-west-asia/iraq-lebanon-and-back-
people-want-fall-regime/
Iraqi star Ilham al-Madfai pens tribute song for late football
titan Radhi

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-
XU7Z6GmcY
Four Pillars of Neoliberalism
• Privatization

• Slashing state subsidies, cutbacks on social spending

• Reduction of barriers to capital flows : comes with


reduced protections for workers

• Imposition of market imperatives in all spheres of human


activity
– Self-regulating individuals
Welfare cutbacks

• Education 2004-2010
– 7  5.7%

• Food 1980-1996/97
– 14  5.6%

• Security 2005-2010
– 13% of government spending >education + health
Structural Adjustment in Egypt
“concentrated public funds into different hands, and
many fewer…the state now subsidized financiers
instead of factories” (Timothy Mitchell, Rule of Experts)
• Privatization of profits:
– to 343 clients
– 28 took 13% of the total

companies controlled by 7 families >


1/5th stock exchange capitalization
Samuli Schielke on boredom
• think
• about boredom as a condition in the lives of people who aim
• for a better life, a consequence as well as a grounding of
• aspiration. Moments of hope can be better accounted for if we
• first turn our attention to their flip side—despair, frustration,
• endless waiting, a sense of meaninglessness and lack of
• purpose. These negative sentiments come partly from
• dissatisfaction with unkept promises of improvement and
• progress, but also from expectation, which gives credibility to
• promises of purpose and hope. Boredom must therefore be
• taken seriously as an experience in its own right,
No to sexual harassment
Example Chart
6

Series 1
3 Series 2
Series 3
2

0
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4
Use of templates
• You are free to use these templates Do
for your personal and business • Use these templates for your presentations
presentations. • Display your presentation on a web site
provided that it is not for the purpose of
downloading the template
• We have put a lot of work into • If you like these templates, we would always
developing all these templates and appreciate a link back to our website. Many
thanks.
retain the copyright in them. You
can use them freely providing that
Don’t
you do not redistribute or sell them. • Resell or distribute these templates
• Put these templates on a website for
• You can find many more free download. This includes uploading them onto
PowerPoint templates on the file sharing networks like Slideshare, Myspace,
Facebook, bit torrent etc
Presentation Magazine website • Pass off any of our created content as your
www.presentationmagazine.com own work

You might also like