EXPLAINING THE ARAB SPRING IN EGYPT AND
LIBYA: AN INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL
ECONOMY PERSPECTIVE
BY
MOHAMED SOFWAN AHMED ADHIL
A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the
degree of Masters in Political Science
Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and
Human Sciences
International Islamic University Malaysia
SEPTEMBER 2016
ABSTRACT
The Middle East and North Africa region suddenly erupted in 2010 with waves of
protests known as the Arab Spring which swept across the region initiating a wave of
change in the region. The Arab Spring erupted due to the dissatisfaction of the people
of existing living standards and in hope for achieving liberty and prosperity. The
Middle East has been ruled for decades by authoritarian leaders. The people took to
the streets and overthrew regimes in Egypt and Libya. It was believed that the people
would establish true democratic rule and would enable a fully democratic era. This
dissertation tries to explain the connection of foreign influences to the Arab Spring in
Egypt and Libya. The influence is examined from political, military and economy.
angles. The study concludes that despite what the people hoped to achieve for the
country, influence from external sources largely shaped the outcome. The study also
finds that the external forces have used various means of influence in the countries.
The external sources did not use uniformed policies for all countries. The policies
included political, military and economic options suitable for the country in question.
By influencing the outcomes of the Arab Spring in Egypt and Libya, the external
powers were apparently only interested to ensure their own national and regional
interests. Ultimately the Arab Spring was highly affected by international political
economy factors.
ii
‫ملخص البحث‬
‫‪ABSTRACT IN ARABIC‬‬
‫األوسط ومشال أفريقيا عام ‪ 2010‬م عدة موجات من االتحجااجات‬
‫شهدت منطقة الشرق ْ‬
‫و اليت لقبت فيما بعد ابسم الربيع العريب‪ .‬و مما صاتحب هذا احلراك الشعيب الذي مشل تقريبا‬
‫جل املنطقة العربية موجة تغيري يف أنظمة احلكم‪ .‬ويعود سبب اندالع ثورات الربيع العريب إىل‬
‫عدم رضى الشعوب العربية عن مسجوى املعيشة احلالية ورغياب احلرايت السياسية و فشل‬
‫تحكوماهتا يف ختقيق االزدهار‪ ،‬وتدهور األوضاع السياسية و اإلقجصادية راجع إىل سياسات‬
‫األنظمة الدكجاتورية الفاشلة يف إدارة شؤون شعوهبا و اليت قدمت إىل سدة احلكم منذ عقود‬
‫من الزمن‪ .‬ولذلك كان من نجائج خروج الناس إىل الشوارع اإلطاتحة ابألنظمة احلاكمة كما‬
‫نأّم سيجمكنون من إقامة نظام تحكم‬
‫تحدث يف مصر وليبيا‪ .‬إ كان املجظاهرون مأملون مه‬
‫دميقراطي مما ميهد إىل ترسيخ مبادئ عهد دميقراطي تحقيقي يف املنطقة‪ .‬و ابلجايل هذه الدراسة‬
‫حتاول حتليل مسجوايت أتثري الجدخل األجنيب على الربيع العريب‪ :‬يف مصر وليبيا حتديدا‪ ،‬وسيجم‬
‫فحص الجأ ثري من عدة زوااي‪ :‬السياسية‪ ,‬العسكرية واالقجصادية‪ .‬وخلصت الدراسة إىل أنه‬
‫على الرغم من ما كان مأمل الشعب يف حتقيقه من إقامة أنظمة تحكم عادلة حتكمها قيم‬
‫الدميقراطية لكن نفو القوى اخلارجية أثر بشكل كبري على نجائج الربيع العريب‪ ،‬إضافة إىل ما‬
‫ضا إىل أن القوى اخلارجية اسجخدمت أنواع خمجلفة من وسائل‬
‫سبق‪ ,‬الدراسة خلصت أيْ ً‬
‫الجأثري و كذلك مل تسجخدم سياسة موتحدة يف مجيع البلدان بل تنوعت على تحسب املعطيات‬
‫الداخلية لكل من البلدين‪ ،‬فمنها من كان و جانب إقجصادي‪ ,‬و أخر سياسي أو عسكري‬
‫مثلما تحدث يف ليببيا‪ ،‬من خالل الجأثري على نجائج الربيع العريب يف مصر وليبيا‪ ،‬بدى جليا‬
‫أن حتركات القوى اخلارجية كانت لضمان مصاحلها الوطنية واإلقليمية‪ .‬ويف اخلجام ميكننا اجلزم‬
‫نأن خمرجات الربيع العريب أتثرت إىل تحد كبري بعوامل اإلقجصاد السياسي الدويل‪.‬‬
‫‪iii‬‬
APPROVAL PAGE
I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion; it conforms to
acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a
dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in Political Science.
………………………………..
Md. Moniruzzaman
Supervisor
I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable standards
of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the
degree of Master of Human Sciences in Political Science.
…………………………………..
Ishtiaq Hossain
Examiner
This dissertation was submitted to the Department of Political Science and is accepted as a
partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in Political
Science.
…………………………………
Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd. Mokhtar
Head, Department of Political Science
This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and
Humane Sciences and is accepted as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Human Sciences in Political Science
……………………………
Rahmah Bt. Ahmad H. Osman
Dean,
Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed
Knowledge and Humane Sciences
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except
where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently
submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.
Mohamed Sofwan Ahmed Adhil
Signature ...........................................................
v
Date .........................................
COPYRIGHT
INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF
FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH
EXPLAINING THE ARAB SPRING IN EGYPT AND LIBYA: AN
INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY PERSPECTIVE
I declare that the copyright holder of this dissertation are jointly owned by the
student and IIUM.
Copyright © 2016 Mohamed Sofwan Ahmed Adhil and International Islamic University Malaysia. All
rights reserved.
No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder
except as provided below
1.
Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may
be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.
2.
IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print
or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.
3.
The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved system
and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other
universities and research libraries.
By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM
Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy.
Affirmed by Mohamed Sofwan Ahmed Adhil
……..……………………..
Signature
………………………..
Date
vi
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my beloved parents
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the creator Almighty Allah for all the support He has given me
in helping me get through my work. I would also like to thank my supervisor Md
Moniruzzaman for the enormous support he gave in helping me go through this
process. And for his enormous effort in helping me achieving this. I also would like
to thank my parents for the enormous support they gave me in helping me during my
work. Also I would like to thank my brother, dear colleague Musa and also Ruqqaya
for their support in the thesis.
viii
TABLE OF CONTANTS
Abstract ....................................................................................................................ii
Abstract in Arabic .....................................................................................................iii
Approval Page ..........................................................................................................iv
Declaration ...............................................................................................................v
Copyright .................................................................................................................vi
Dedication ................................................................................................................vii
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................viii
List of Figures ..........................................................................................................xi
CHAPTER ONE: RESEARCH PROBLEM, THEORTICAL
FRAMEWORK AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ......................................1
1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................1
1.1 Statement of the problem .........................................................................2
1.2 Research Questions ..................................................................................2
1.3 Research Objectives .................................................................................3
1.4 Main Arguments ......................................................................................3
1.5 Signature of Study ...................................................................................3
1.6 Limitation of the Study ............................................................................4
1.7 Litrature Review ......................................................................................4
1.8 Theoritical Frame Work ...........................................................................13
1.8.1 Core................................................................................................15
1.8.2 Semi periphery................................................................................15
1.8.3 Periphery ........................................................................................16
1.9 Analytical Frame work .............................................................................17
1.10 Methodology ..........................................................................................18
1.10.1 Method of Data Collection and Analysis .......................................18
1.11 Organization of the Study.......................................................................19
CHAPTER TWO: THE UNFOLD OF ARAB SPRING ......................................21
2.0 Organization of the study .........................................................................21
2.1 Historical Background of the Arab Spring ................................................21
2.2 Tunisia: Whrer it All Begain ....................................................................26
2.3 Unfolding of the Arab Spring in Egypt .....................................................28
2.4 Unfold the Arab Spring InLibiya ..............................................................33
2.5 Conclusion ...............................................................................................39
CHAPTER THREE: FOREIGN POLITICAL INTEFERENCE IN THE
ARAB SPRING.......................................................................................................40
3.0 Introduction .............................................................................................40
3.1 Egypt: Legacy of Foreign Interference .....................................................40
3.2 Foreign interference in Egypt’s Arab Spring ............................................43
3.3 Libya: Legacy of foreign interference ......................................................49
3.4 Foreign interference in Libya’s Arab Spring ............................................52
3.5 Conclusion ...............................................................................................58
ix
CHAPTER FOUR: FOREIGN MILITARY INTERFERENCE IN THE
ARAB SPRING.......................................................................................................61
4.0 Introduction .............................................................................................61
4.1 Egypt: The Legacy of Military interference ..............................................62
4.2 Arab Spring .............................................................................................64
4.3 Libya .......................................................................................................65
4.4 Arab spring ..............................................................................................66
4.5 Conclusion ...............................................................................................73
CHAPTER FIVE: FOREIGN EXTERNAL INFLUENCE ON THE
ECONOMY ............................................................................................................75
5.0 Introduction .............................................................................................75
5.1 Egypt .......................................................................................................75
5.1.1 Egypt’s Debt Problem .....................................................................77
5.1.2 Energy ............................................................................................80
5.1.3 Privatization ...................................................................................82
5.1.4 Restructuring ..................................................................................85
5.1.5 Exchange Rate ................................................................................89
5.2 Aftermath of coup ....................................................................................90
5.3 Libya .......................................................................................................92
5.4 Conclusion ...............................................................................................97
CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION..........................................................................99
BIBILOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................104
x
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure ‎1.1
World System Structure
14
Figure ‎1.2
Analytical Framework
17
Figure ‎2.1
Map of Tunisia
26
Figure ‎2.2
Map of Egypt
28
Figure ‎2.3
Map of Libiya
33
Figure ‎4.1
Map of Libiya which shows positions of various factions
73
xi
CHAPTER ONE
RESEARCH PROBLEM, THEORTICAL FRAMEWORK AND
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Arab Spring, variously known as the ‘Arab Awakening,’ ‘Arab Uprising,’
‘Islamist Spring,’ ‘Arab Spring’ and ‘Arab Winter' refers to the sudden upheavals that
shook the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) during 2010-2012. These events
included citizens’ demonstrations, riots, protests and sit-in occupations initially in
Tunisia, which eventually spread to Egypt and Libya in order to overthrow the ruling
regimes. With the overwhelming success in Tunisia and Egypt, the domino effect of
the revolution spread to many Arab countries. Civil uprisings started in Bahrain,
Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Sudan, Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Western
Sahara, Syria and Yemen. Some of the civil uprisings succeeded while others failed to
achieve the goal. Striking similarities among all the uprisings included making
sustained similar campaigns, protest demonstrations, riots, rallies on the streets as well
as effective use of the social media to communicate and organize the revolutionary
activities. In all of these cases, the governments maintained repressive force to stay in
power. But the wave of uprising was so powerful in some cases that in four countries
the regimes were overthrown (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen). The immediate
effects of the Arab Spring included political instability in 20 countries. There were
governments being overthrown in countries like Tunisia, Yemen and Egypt. While in
Libya and Syria it resulted in a civil wars.
Out of all the countries in which changes occurred, Egypt and Libya had the
most unique experience. Regional and foreign powers were actively concerned and
1
got involved diplomatically and militarily in these countries. The questions are why
were the foreign powers and actors so much concerned and engaged in these
countries? and why did they react the way they did? A serious investigation looking
into these and other questions is needed to analyse the political dynamics of the Arab
world.
1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The Arab Spring completely changed the political and social landscape of the MENA
region. The magnitude of its importance is enormous for the politics of the region and
the world. The Arab Spring had been affected by both domestic and international
factors. The aim of this research thus is to analyse the Arab Spring in Egypt and Libya
from the international political economic perspective. It assumes that diplomatic and
military interventions in Egypt and Libya by the political and economic hegemony of
the global and regional powers have hijacked the revolution. Hence, this research
attempts to study the foreign influences on Libya and Egypt.
1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In order to do the analysis of the issues stated above, the study addresses the following
questions:
1.
Why did the Arab Spring unfold in different ways in Egypt and Libya?
2.
How did political and military interventions by the foreign powers shape
political changes in Egypt and Libya?
3.
Was there any economic influence exerted by external forces towards
Egypt and Libya?
2
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
This study aims to:
1.
Explain how the Arab Spring unfolded differently in Egypt and Libya.
2.
To assess the interference of foreign political and military interventions in
shaping the Arab Spring through political and military means in Egypt and
Libya.
3.
To evaluate the economic influence by the external forces towards Egypt
and Libya.
1.4 MAIN ARGUMENTS
With regard to these questions, this research assumes that:
1.
There were immediate short term and long term objectives of the Arab
Spring. The short term objective was the overthrowing of the existing
political regimes, and the long term objective was to achieve political
democracy and economic opportunities.
2.
The presence or absence of foreign intervening powers have defined the
mode and outcome of the Arab Spring in different countries.
3.
The political and military interventions in Egypt and Libya by foreign
powers were dictated by their desire for continuous hegemonic presence
and control over the two countries.
1.5 SIGNATURE OF STUDY
The Arab Spring has been viewed mostly as an event that was carried out solely by the
people of those countries. The protests on the street show they had been dissatisfied
with the policies of the government and desired the needs for change. As a result,
3
there is a great deal of concern in focusing research on domestic issues. There is
further need to explore the research in the area linking the international realm with
political development. The mass demonstrations in Egypt and Libya succeeded in
overthrowing the existing regimes but these developments need to be explored further
in terms of external linkages.
1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
There were a number of countries which were affected by Arab Spring. Among them
only two countries would be selected: Because firstly, regime change took place in
both countries and secondly, due to the remoteness of the region and the constraint of
time, mostly secondary sources would be relied on for analyses.
1.7 LITRATURE REVIEW
Literature has been steadily growing in studying the Arab Spring. In this review,
focus is mainly on Arab Spring. But at the same time, the literature review will also
focus on Egypt and Libya.
Bond1 in his research talks about the involvement of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia before the Arab Spring. The
problem with the research is that the social impact on society has not been explored
further. The strength of his research is that he provides brief overview of the policies
implemented by the IMF. Pelletreau2 conducted a comparative study in which he tries
to highlight the local factors on why the revolution did succeed in Tunsia and Egypt
1
Bond, P. Economic attacks against the Arab revolution (2011, December) <http://www.
socialjustice.org/uploads/pubs/ArabRevolts_csj.pdf> (Accessed 11th September 2014)
2
Pelletreau, R. H.. Transformation in the Middle East; Comparing the Uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and
Bahrain. Foreign Policy. (2011, February 24) http://www.foreignaffairs.com/: <http://www.foreign
affairs.com/articles/67546/robert-h-pelletreau/transformation-in-the-middle-east>
(Accessed
11th
September 2014)
4
and why it failed in Bahrain at the same time. He claims that in Bahrain, the army
was composed of foreign mercenaries where their loyalty lay towards the king. while
in Tunisia and Egypt, the army was composed of the nations own citizens.
Khalil, Mazlee and Tabaar, have highlighted the different groups and their
behaviour in the post-Mubarak era Egypt. In their research they discuss the emergence
of the Salafist groups in Egyptian politics.3 In the research,4 Tabaar gives a detailed
account of the local Egyptian politics and the economic forces involved. According to
the first two writers, the root of the problem stemmed from the policies of the
government. Tabaar also talks about the various parties involved in Egypt. However,
in his research he has not assessed the role of outside interference.
Jakobson, in his research, talks about who the credit for disarmament of
weapons of mass destruction in Libya should be given to. He explains in great detail
about the various parties involved in persuading Libya to stop the weapons of mass
destruction programme. However, Jakobson only focuses on the issue of disarmament
and his research does not go beyond disarmament. Yet in his research, he describes
the influence of foreign powers in Libya.5
Gaub, Pargeta and Vijay Prashad examine the revolution of Arab Spring in
Libya 6. Vijay Prashad 7 examines the role and the various actors involved in shaping
the Arab Spring in Libya. His research highlights the degree of authoritarianism which
3
Maszlee Malik Khalil al-Anani. "Pious Way to Politics- The Rise of Political Salafism in PostMubarak Egypt." Digest of Middle East Studies, Volume 22, Issue 1(2013), 57–73. Tabaar, Mohammad
Ayatollahi. "Assessing (In)security after the Arab Spring: The Case of Egypt." PS: Political Science &
Politics, Volume 46, Issue 4 (2013), 727-735.
4
Tabaar, Mohammad Ayatollahi. "Assessing (In)security after the Arab Spring: The Case of Egypt."
PS: Political Science & Politics, Volume 46, Issue 4, (2013), 727-735.
5
Jakobsen, Peter Viggo. "Reinterpreting Libya's WMD Turnaround – Bridging the Carrot-Coercion
Divide." Journal of Strategic Studies, (2012), 489-512.
6
Pargeter, Alison. Libiya The Rise and Fall of Qaddafi. (Yale, Yale University Press, 2012).
Gaub, Florence. "The Libyan Armed Forces between Coup-proofing and Repression." Journal of
Strategic Studies, Volume 36, Issue 2, (2013), 221-244; Prashad, Vijay. Arab Spring, Libyan Winter.
(Edinburgh, AK Press, 2012).
7
Prashad, Vijay. Arab Spring, Libyan Winter. (Edinburgh, AK Press, 2012).
5
existed in Libya. Pargeter tends to highlight what was apparent only’ he does not give
a full analysis which compromises of all factors to get a comprehensive picture. Gaub
looks at how the paranoid mentality of Gaddafi, led to the imposition of measures
which weakened the security forces. The research goes into detail about the nature of
the security forces.8 Gaub also talks about how this has affected the revolution of Arab
Spring.
Bradley, Ghadbian, Aramjani, Darwish and Lynch consider the Arab Spring as
an opportunity for the Islamists to take over and come to power.9. Bradley and Shetha
claim that the old system of authoritarianism is much better than the current system of
democracy. Bradley argues that in the pre-existing system of Tunisia, social practices
of religion were very much controlled. Bradley argues that the entire Arab Spring was
a deceit to bring the rule of Islamists in the name of democracy. His main intention is
to highlight the dangers of Islamic extremism. The argument stated by Bradley has
already been proven false, as the Islamist party in Tunisia had agreed to give up power
for the transitional government which would incorporate the views of all. The whole
idea has been focused out of context and selective information has only been taken to
conclude his evaluations. His study has also failed to take into account the regional
and Western influences. Ghadbian in his book Democratization and the Islamic
Challenge in the Arab World tries to explain the cultural aspect and focuses more on
Egypt.
He claims that Arabs through their culture, are not compatible with
democracy. He doubts whether full democracy will ever be achieved by this. He
8
Gaub, Florence. "The Libyan Armed Forces between Coup-proofing and Repression." Journal of
Strategic Studies, Volume 36, Issue 2, (2013), 221-244.
9
Bradley, John. After the Arab Spring: How Islamists Hijacked The Middle East Revolts. (New York,
Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); Ghadbian, Najib. Democratization and the Islamic Challenge in the Arab
World. (Colardo, Westview Press, 1997); Darwish, Nonie. The Devil We Don't Know: The Dark Side
of Revolutions in the Middle East. (New Jersey, Wiley, 1 Edition, 2012) ; Lynch, Mark. Islamists in a
changing Middle East. (Washington, Foreign Policy Magazine, 1st Edition, 2012): Armajani, Jon.
"Egypt." In Modern Islamist Movements: History, Religion, and Politics, Edited by Jon Armajani,
(Chichester, Wiley-Blackwell, 1 Edition, 2011),37-84.
6
examines the local Egyptian politics but only focuses on the vendetta between the
Islamists and the secularists.
Armajani in her research10 draws the distinction between the Muslim
Brotherhood of Egypt and the Egyptian born Ayman Al Zawahiri's Al-Qaeda. 11While
the Brotherhood emphasizes on non-violent method in achieving their goals, AlQaeda puts emphasis on violent methods to achieve its ends. Compared to Najib
Ghadbian, Dina Shehata brings in the internal economic problems and how they are
related to politics. She does a good job of trying to highlight all the regional actors in
the research but her research is mostly limited in examining local politics of Egypt
during the Mubarak era.12
Lynch tries to differentiate between Al-Qaeda and other Islamic groups in
Egypt.13 There are three major camps in which the Islamist groups fall under. One
group rejects both democracy and secularism. While others believe that democracy is
compatible with Shura, while the third group believes in Jihad. She has done an indepth study to examine salafi groups. Lynch has also given a picture about how the
Tunisian local politics is shaped and developed. 14
There are some who doubt that democracy could be achieved in MENA. Some
like Bradley believe that the democratic atmosphere is hazardous as it opens a way for
10
Armajani, Jon. "Egypt." In Modern Islamist Movements: History, Religion, and Politics, Edited by
Jon Armajani, (Chichester, Wiley-Blackwell, 1 Edition, 2011), 37-84
11
Ibid.
12
Shehata, Dina. Islamists And Secularists in Egypt Opposition, conflict and cooperation. (New York,
Routledge; 1st Edition, 2010).
13
Lynch, Mark. Islamists in a changing Middle East. (Washington, Foreign Policy Magazine; 1st
Edition, 2012).
14
Ibid.
7
the Islamists to hijack the revolution. 15 Bradley argues that the Arab culture is so alien
to democracy that it would ultimately prevent democracy from being established. 16
Bradley J Cook argues that the way to bring democracy is by slow transition
into it. He states that sudden protests are not helpful in bringing a viable democracy. 17
He further maintains that given the inconsistency between Islam and democracy, it is
extremely difficult to establish a viable democracy. Hamid Dabushi believes that the
whole region is coming under liberalism, marking the end of post colonialism.
18
He
claims that democracy will triumph and grant ultimate freedom to the countries of the
Arab world. Hamid continues to elaborate that as a result of the Arab Spring, the
countries have the freedom to do whatever they want. Tariq Ramdaan also believes
that one of the key reasons for the emergence of Arab Spring is the exposure of the
public in the Middle East to Western liberalism.
Ramadan refutes the other authors in his research views that there have been
many conspiracy theories regarding the Arab Spring. Those who oppose it consider it
as a ploy developed by the West.19 He claims that although it is true that most of the
bloggers who launched the social revolution were educated in Western countries, this
was purely a coincidence and there was no indication that Western governments were
behind the uprising.20
15
Bradley, John. After the Arab Spring: How Islamists Hijacked The Middle East Revolts. (New York,
Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).
16
Bradley J. Cook & Michael Stathis. "Democracy and Islam: promises and perils for the Arab Spring
protests." Journal of Global Responsibility, Volume 3, Issue 2, (2012), 175 - 186.
17
Bradley J. Cook & Michael Stathis. "Democracy and Islam: promises and perils for the Arab Spring
protests." Journal of Global Responsibility, Volume 3, Issue 2, (2012), 175 - 186.
18
Dabushi, Hamid. The Arab Spring End of Postcolonialism. (New York, Zed Books, 2012).
19
Ramadan, Tariq. Islam and the Arab Awakening. (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012).
20
Ibid.
8
The emergence of the Arab Spring signalled a greater emphasis on human
rights, which was considered a great triumph by many liberalists. 21 McWhinney
advocates the establishment of a pluralist community based on the control of few
powers. During the Libyan crisis of imposing a no-fly zone, UK and France took the
initiative and a few NATO member countries participated in it. 22 McWhinney in his
research, questions whether the Libyan resolution was legal or not. He justifies this by
saying that it lacked the backing of countries like China and India and it also lacked
any major support from Africa, which made the support confined mainly to the
Western countries. The author has emphasized much on culture and has neglected the
factors of economics and politics in the long term.
Criddle believes that the resolutions passed by the UN Security Council, were
used for humanitarian and financial purposes.23 One important point which he has
highlighted was that the states have less autonomy or independence to act when
Security Council has made a decision. He proposes a legal framework in which the
international frame could work. He claims this guideline would help to achieve the
humanitarian objective and the financial intervention. Criddle is talking about what is
ought to be rather the reality. Glanville, Cahn and Orford talk about the Libyan case
in the Security Council. 24 Glanville points out that the case of Libyan marks a turning
point where foreign intervention was used for the purpose of humanitarian
intervention. Similarly, Cahn believes that the Libyan mandate was widely
21
Cahn, Carsten. "Libiya, the International Criminal Court and Complimentary." Journal of
International Criminal Justice, Volume 10, Issues 2, (2012), 325-349.
22
McWhinney, Edward. "A New Multicultural World Community and an Emerging New Pluralistic
World Order System." Chinese Journal of International Law, Volume 11, Issue 3 (2012), 469-486.
23
Criddle, Evan J. "Humanitarian Financial Intervention." European Journal of International Law,
Volume 24, Issue 2, (2013),583-615.
24
Cahn, Carsten. "Libiya, the International Criminal Court and Complimentary." Journal of
International Criminal Justice, Volume 10, Issues 2, (2012):325-349. Glanville, L. Intervention in
Libya: From Sovereign Consent to Regional Consent. International Studies Perspectives, Volume 14,
Issue 3, (2012), 325–342; Orford, A. Moral Internationalism and the Responsibility to Protect.
European Journal of International Law, Volume 24, Issue 1 (2013), 83-108.
9
controversial as it began to over-reach its mandate. The NATO did not limit itself to
just protecting civilians but it also expanded its mission to attack Gaddafi’s forces as
well. 25 However Wouters claims that the EU had already started changing its policies
after the Arab Spring. 26 Orford talks about the evolution of the Security Council. She
claims that during the Cold War period, the Security Council had emphasised more on
unilateralism. In the small post Cold War period, the unilateralism approach was
replaced with the concept of interfering in the name of humanitarian intervention. The
major powers were even willing to bypass the UN Security Council if they wanted to
achieve their interests.27 Caswell highlights the paralysis of the Security Council and
goes on to explain how the resolutions have impacted in the past. Caswell highlights
the irony of the Security Council resolutions and points out that the veto power has
often been abused. This goes against the fundamentals of forming the Security
Council which is to maintain peace.
28
This notable contribution towards the literature
helps to give an insight into the policies by major powers. But this is a tiny fragment
of the entire Arab Spring and much needs to be explored regarding it.
Fiddian tries to highlight the crisis of refuges as a result of the Arab Spring.
Libya had large number of Palestinian refugees. She talks about how the refugees
were impacted as a result of the Arab Spring.
29
The good thing about her work is that
she traces it back to the root of the problem. She goes on to describe how the Palestine
25
Cahn, Carsten. "Libiya, the International Criminal Court and Complimentary." Journal of
International Criminal Justice, Volume 10, Issues 2, (2012),325-349.
26
Jan Wouters & Sanderijn Duquet. The Arab Uprisings and the European Union: In Search of a
Comprehensive Strategy . Yearbook of European Law, Volume 32, Issue 1, (2013), 230-265.
27
Orford., A. Moral Internationalism and the Responsibility to Protect. European Journal of
International Law, Volume 24, Issue 1 (2013), 83-108.
28
Carswell, A. J. Unblocking the UN Security Council: The Uniting for Peace Resolution. Journal of
Conflict and Security Law, Volume 18, Issue 3, (2013), 453-480.
29
Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. Invisible Refugees and/or Overlapping Refugeedom? Protecting Sahrawis and
Palestinians Displaced by the 2011 Libyan Uprising. Int J Refugee Law, (2012), 263-293.
10
refugees were given refuge in Libya and how they have lived there. She has done this
research only at the state level. 30
Sadiki in her research claims that democracy is not exclusively a Western
product but it is also applicable to the Arab region as well.
31
Her research has
highlighted the entire history of Libya up until the Arab Spring. She also claims that
the power transfer would be accompanied with violence and this should be accepted.
What is good in her article is that she gives detailed account of local politics in Libya.
However, as the focus has been on democracy in Libya, she has left out the debate on
other issues.
Francesco Strazzari tries to trace the arms movement in Libya and how it had
impacted the country. He claims that the arms shipment has impacted various regions
which includes Mali. Niger, Nigerian parts of Sinai, Syria and Algeria. He claims that
this has significantly made an impact by making these regions unstable. Although
Francesco gives an overview of the impact of arms after the fall of Gaddafi, he
slightly mentions of how this has impacted the Libyan Arab Spring. 32 Lacher
describes the various factions in the post Gaddafi era. He also goes to the root of tribal
politics and its formulation after the independence and how it has continue to play an
important role in the society.33
There have been talks about the economies of Egypt and Tunisia. The
economies grew but at a slower pace during the pre-economic eras. There is a lot of
emphasis on a great deal of macroeconomics and fiscal issues have been emphasized
30
Ibid.
Sadiki, L. Libya’s Arab Spring The Long Road from Revolution to Democracy. International
Studies, (2013), 285-314.
32
Strazzari, Francesco. "Libyan Arms and Regional Instability." The International Spectator 49, no. 3
(2014): 54-68.
33
Lacher, Wolfram. "Libya’s Local Elites and the Politics of Alliance Building." Mediterranean
Politics 21, no. 1 (2015): 64-85
31
11
in the research. To solve the problem, the researchers have argued that the
international community could become donors and could play a more constructive
role in solving the problem. 34 The researchers are largely confined with how “things
are ought to be” rather than dealing with the politics of the existing world. But in the
modern world every country is concerned only with its own interest. Despite the
suggestions the research contributed was extremely valuable as it has given a
macroeconomic approach towards the whole subject.
Most of the literature available does not seem to confine to reality. The threat
of Islamists and how they would react have been over blown as gross exaggeration.
The events which are currently happening show that this is far from true. Moreover
the international communities approach has been hypocritical. They have focused
mostly on the internal politics of the country which have side-lined the effects of
international realm and periphery. There are some attempts to highlight the
international side, yet it is focused on very narrow and specific cases. The
international angle which was highlighted was mostly relate to the UN Security
Council’s resolutions and short term interests. It is important to explore the long term
objectives and strategies of the foreign powers to get clear constructed view to
identify the reality of the Arab Spring. Thus, more areas need to be explored. By
combining the missing perspectives of all the points it is possible to bring a much
clearer picture of the current events in the Middle East. The biggest drawback of most
of these assumptions is failure to take the economic side into account. Although there
are some attempts at talking about the economy, it is limited in the exploration at the
state level. Combining all of these missing perspectives would allow us to get an
34
Magdi Amin, Ragui Assaad, Nazar al-Baharna, Kemal Dervis, Raj M. Desai, Navtej S. Dhillon,
Ahmed Galal, Hafez Ghanem, Carol Graham, Daniel Kaufmann, Homi Kharas, John Page, Djavad
Salehi-Isfahani, Katherine Sierra, Tarik M. Yousef. After the Spring: Economic Transitions in the Arab
World, (New York, Oxford Univeristy, Press 2012).
12
accurate picture of how the polices are being formed. Therefore, it is required to
undertake an analytical view of combined political, economic, and international
aspects to get the real picture of the situation.
1.8 THEORITICAL FRAME WORK
This is a study which tries to explain the Arab Spring in the context of international
political economy. In order to understand the nature of the upheaval that has swept
across the region, the best theory that can be used to explain the situation is Immanuel
Wallerstein's World System Theory. This model was developed in 1974 by
Wallerstein. The theory is a critique against modernism, which emphasises that, even
though a country may possess its own resources, it has no chance of becoming a
developed country on its own. The World System Theory emphasises that the political
and economic development of a country is not dependent on its own wish, rather it
depends on the structure of the system. Wallerstein suggests that whatever system or
policies one tries to bring about for change, it would be of no benefit or effect. As the
Arab Spring is a strong upheaval, the theory is perfect to test whether a meaningful
change can be brought to the Arab countries. Immanuel Wallerstein describes that
from the 16th century onwards, the modern world system has emerged. . Wallerstein
defines world economy as "is a large geographic zone within which there is a
division of labor and hence significant internal exchange of basic or essential
goods as well as flows of capital and labor."35 World System is a theory which
explains how wealth is distributed through a set of mechanisms. 36 Wallerstein also
assumes that class division reaches a regional character in the world. The World
35
Wallerstein, I. World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction. (Duke University Press, 2004) 23.
Wallerstein, I. The Modern World-System I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European
World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. (University of Calafornia Press, 2011).
36
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