ARAB SPRING The Arab Spring was a loosely related group of protests that ultimately resulted in regime changes in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Not all of the movements, however, could be deemed successful—at least if the end goal was increased democracy and cultural freedom. In fact, for many countries enveloped by the revolts of the Arab Spring, the period since has been hallmarked by increased instability and oppression. Given the significant impact of the Arab Spring throughout northern Africa and the Middle East, it’s easy to forget the series of large-scale political and social movements arguably began with a single act of defiance. TheArab Springwas a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across North Africa and the Middle East in the early 2010s. It began in response to oppressive regimes and a lowstandard of living, starting with protests inTunisiaIn the news, social media has been heralded as the driving force behind the swift spread of revolution throughout the world, as new protests appear in response to success stories shared from those taking place in other countries .In many countries, the governments have also recognized the importance of social media for organizing and have shut down certain sites or blocked Internet service entirely, especially in the times preceding a major rally.Governments have also scrutinized or suppressed discussion in those forums through accusing content creators of unrelated crimes or shutting down communication on specific sites or groups, such as through FacebookThe effects of theRevolution spread strongly to five other countries:Libya,Egypt,Yemen,SyriaandBahrain, where either the regime was toppled or major uprisings and social violence occurred, including riots, civil wars or insurgencies.Sustainedstreetdemonstrationstookplace inMorocco,Iraq,Algeria,IranianKhuzestan,[citation needed]Lebanon,Jordan,Kuwait,OmanandSudan. Minor protests occurred inDjibouti,Mauritania, thePalestinian National Authority,Saudi Arabia, and theMoroccan-occupied Western Sahara. A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab World isash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām("the people want to bring down the regime"). The wave of initial revolutions and protests faded by mid-2012, as many Arab Spring demonstrations were met with violent responses from authorities, as well as from pro- government militias, counter-demonstrators and militaries. These attacks were answered with violence from protestors in some cases. Large-scale conflicts resulted: theSyrian Civil War; theIraqi insurgencyand thefollowing civil war; theEgyptian Crisis,coup, andsubsequent unrestandinsurgency; theLibyan Civil War; and theYemeni Crisisandfollowing civil war. A power struggle continued after the immediate response to the Arab Spring. While leadership changed and regimes were held accountable,vacuums opened across the Arab world. Ultimately it resulted in a contentious battle between a consolidation of power by religious elites and the growing support for democracy in many Muslim-
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