The fall of the regime of now-former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can be considered the latest act of the Arab Spring, a wave of protests that swept through many countries in 2011.
In 2011, numerous countries in the Arab world witnessed mass protests against their governments, with the most significant ones occurring in Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, and Syria.
More than 13 years after the protests that toppled numerous governments in the Arab world, the most recent act of this wave of civil disobedience has unfolded with the fall of the two-decade rule of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.
However, many analysts warn that Assad’s fall does not necessarily mean an improvement for the people of Syria, which is emerging from a 13-year civil war that claimed 617.000 lives and displaced over 6.7 million people.
Experts point to examples of countries where populations attempted to overthrow longstanding rulers.
The clearest example is Tunisia, where in 2011, the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled since 1987, was overthrown. The protests bore fruit, and Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2019.
Although initial signs showed potential for building a democratic society, the rule of current President Kais Saied has painted a different picture. In power since 2019, Saied displayed authoritarian tendencies in 2021 by successfully consolidating power through the dismissal of Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi. Since then, Saied has taken firm control of all institutions in Tunisia.
Initial successes were also visible in Egypt, where protests in 2011 led to the fall of Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled since 1981.
Mubarak stepped down as president in February 2011, and by April, legal proceedings had begun against him on charges of corruption.
Through complex legal processes, Mubarak was initially convicted, only to be acquitted after a retrial in 2013. He passed away in 2020, and his funeral was organized by the Egyptian state with the highest honors.
As for democracy in the country, it lasted until 2013, when the military, led by Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, overthrew democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi. Since 2014, El-Sisi has been president of Egypt, controlling all key institutions in the country.
Aside from Syria, the worst situations following the overthrow of longstanding dictatorships have been observed in Libya and Yemen.
The goal of the demonstrations in Yemen was to overthrow the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was achieved in 2012 when he stepped down after 32 years in power.
However, the country remains engulfed in a civil war that began in 2014, involving multiple actors in a situation somewhat similar to Syria.
Since 2022, there has been a de facto truce, though periodic clashes still occur between various groups active in the country. A significant portion of the population does not recognize the authority of the current leader Rashad al-Alimi, while the western part of the country is under the control of the Houthi movement.
Similarly to Yemen, no clear resolution has emerged in Libya following the overthrow of its longtime leader. In October 2011, the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, who had ruled since 1969, was toppled.
Following his ouster, democratic elections were held in Libya, but just two years later, a civil war broke out, lasting until 2020.
Although the war officially ended four years ago, Libya remains in a political crisis with no resolution in sight.
It is also worth noting that smaller protests during the Arab Spring occurred in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Sudan, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Mauritania, and Western Sahara, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
