Geopolitics

Arab Spring: A Mirage - II
Star Rating Loader Please wait...
Issue Courtesy: Aakrosh | Date : 14 Aug , 2012

India is a secular and democratic nation, which is also home to several religions being followed strongly by different sections of society. Democracy, secularism and adherence to religious practices—including Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity—coexist in India. An Indian can be secular, a strong democrat as well as a firm believer in his or her religious values. The appeal of this concept is picking up among the Arabs. In their perception, in their respective states, they can promote both democracy and Islam. This also explains their assertion, which is gradually gaining strength, that they need to define democracy in keeping with their sociocultural norms and not as decided for them by Western dictates.

An Indian can be secular, a strong democrat as well as a firm believer in his or her religious values. The appeal of this concept is picking up among the Arabs.

Democracy as per Western dictates, even if it is not opposed by Arabs, can really not be accepted as genuine democracy. Howsoever democratic the United States may claim itself to be, it is well known that the foreign policy of the country is decided by a few strong lobbies operating there, particularly that of Jews. The Jews do not constitute a significant proportion of the country’s electoral population and yet have command over particularly its foreign policy and media. This certainly cannot be viewed as democratic rule from any angle. Understandably, the United Kingdom is far more democratic and its media has more freedom than that of the United States. But this country is headed by a constitutional monarch. Now, if democracy allows monarchy, even though nominally, this does not justify the noise made about the dismissal of Arab monarchs in the name of democracy. Nevertheless, if the West remains insistent that the time has come for this change to take place, then the first step in this direction should be taken by the royalty residing in Buckingham Palace. The queen should move out, without her crown, symbolising an end to constitutional monarchy in Britain. It may take decades, perhaps centuries, before this transformation takes place in Britain. This in itself negates the “democratic” importance being attached by supporters of Arab Spring to stepping down from power of kings holding power in the region. Besides, practically speaking, the United States and its allies are least concerned about whom the Arab countries are headed by as long as they have friendly ties with them. Neither Gaddafi nor Saddam Hussein was a monarch, but their removal from power by force was essential from the U.S. perspective as the two did not entertain cordial ties with Washington.

Palestinian Issue

Interestingly, a few supporters of Arab Spring expected this transformation to lead to the recognition of Israel as a sovereign state in the region. This is what the United States and, of course, Israel really desire. This raises the notion that perhaps to a degree Washington and its allies raised hype about Arab Spring not really for the sake of democracy but to suit their interests and that of Israel. This also implies that their interest was to push the Palestinian issue to the backburner by going overboard regarding the importance of Arab Spring.

If, for a while, one were to put aside all the reservations expressed in this piece regarding the hype raised about the importance of Arab Spring in interest of democracy in the region, there is yet another crucial issue that cannot be sidelined. If the United States is seriously concerned about promoting Arab Spring, then history and diplomatic ethics demand that first priority be given to worst sufferers of democratic and humanitarian abuse in the region. Yes, this refers to ensuring a sovereign state for the Palestinians, where they are fully entitled to their democratic rights.4 Sadly, the hype raised about Arab Spring in a few nations suggests that perhaps this exercise has been deliberately indulged in to push the concern for the Palestinians’ rights to the backburner.

 The increasing pace with which the Arabs are asserting this fact is perhaps just a minor example that Arab Spring has failed even before it has actually had any significant impact. This was but natural.

Thanks to communication revolution, the Arabs and other countries have become conscious of the limited appeal and impact of Arab Spring. Not surprisingly, they have started giving greater importance to opting for the democratic path as it suits their interests and not as decided by the White House. The new importance being accorded to Indian democracy in keeping with Gandhian principles is one indicator of this strong fact. The manner in which political turns have taken place in Libya and a few other countries in the name of Arab Spring has little appeal for most of the Arab world, including the countries undergoing the phase of political transformation. Democracy, even for the sake of genuine democracy, cannot be imposed by external pressure, nor can it be imported or exported. The increasing pace with which the Arabs are asserting this fact is perhaps just a minor example that Arab Spring has failed even before it has actually had any significant impact. This was but natural. The addition of the label “Arab Spring” can mislead the people for a while into thinking that they are a part of this political movement but not for long, thanks to the communication revolution.

Conclusion

The on-going phase of sociopolitical transformation, ostensibly in the name of democracy, cannot be described even as a partial success in the few Arab nations that have been affected by it. The process is still taking place. Success remains elusive as well as considerably distorted from what it was projected as initially.

Despite the United States and its allies having exercised all efforts possible, with the support of most sections of the Western media, Arab Spring has failed to sweep the Arab world. The people affected by protests and demonstrations do not represent a significant percentage of the Arab world. Besides, even the protestors cannot be assumed to be legitimate and genuine representatives of their respective countries’ populations. The last point justifies the failure of emergence of any strong revolutionary leaders or parties even in the few countries witnessing a phase of political transformation. It may be noted that this transformation is not people-oriented. The transformation has been marked at most by a change of leaders at the helm. This change has not spelt better sociopolitical tidings for the people. Rather, the situation has worsened for them. Ironically, while elaborate attention has been paid to the increase in sufferings of Egyptians, practically little attention has been given to the hardships being faced by the Libyans and the Iraqis following the change imposed upon them by external powers.

Diplomatically, while external powers are observing developments in Egypt, they are trying all their cards in Syria and they bend diplomatic ethics to use military prowess in Libya. In this context, initially, hype was deliberately raised about Arab Spring to probably justify political changes desired by the United States in countries such as Libya. It is impossible to correlate what happened in Libya with the incident of the burning man in Tunisia or Mubarak’s dismissal from power in Egypt. Likewise, the on-going protests in Syria cannot be viewed as similar to those taking place in either Jordan or the few odd ones in Saudi Arabia. This raises questions on the use of the label “Arab Spring” from another angle. It would be appropriate to view sociopolitical changes in respective Arab countries in keeping with their national issues. The label “Arab Spring” carries different interpretations for each Arab nation. It has been deliberately used to perhaps excite a revolutionary frenzy across the entire Arab world. This attempt has failed. This also proves the point that the hype about Arab Spring was raised to manufacture a revolution, ostensibly towards democracy, in the Arab countries. This attempt has also failed diplomatically as well as politically. But if the users of this label are still hopeful that Arab Spring will have some impact on the entire Arab world, if not now than in the near future, then they should start giving more importance to diplomatic and democratic rights of the Palestinians, who have been engaged in a revolutionary struggle for a long time. If Arab Spring has to take roots in the region, it needs to cease remaining a mirage for the Palestinians!

Notes and References

  1. Jack Shenker. “Egypt’s Revolution Faces Stern Test as Country Votes for President.” Guardian (UK), 15 June 2012.
  2. Robert Fisk. “Assad Will Breathe a Sigh of Relief at Death of Arab Spring.” Independent (UK), 16 June 2012.
  3. Brian Whitaker. “Algerian Prime Minister Calls Arab Spring a Plague.” Guardian (UK), 9 May 2012.
  4. Sarah Marusek. “West Must Recognize Peaceful Palestinian Resistance Movement.” Christian Science Monitor (U.S.), 7 June 2012.
1 2
Rate this Article
Star Rating Loader Please wait...
The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

About the Author

Nilofar Suhrawardy

Nilofar Suhrawardy is a well-known freelance journalist who has, at different periods, written extensively for national papers.

More by the same author

Post your Comment

2000characters left