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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol.7, No.7
Publication Date: July 25, 2020
DOI:10.14738/assrj.77.8236.
Obah-Akpowoghaha, N. G., Tarro, M. L., & Adekunle, O. (2020). An Appraisal and Popular Notion Surrounding The Arab Spring: The
Marxist Analyses. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 7(7) 277-284.
An Appraisal and Popular Notion Surrounding The Arab Spring: The
Marxist Analyses
Nelson Goldpin Obah-Akpowoghaha
School of Arts and Science,
University of The Gambia (UTG)
Momodou Lamin Tarro
School of Business and Public Administration
University of The Gambia (UTG)
Ogunmilade Adekunle
Faculty of Environmental Management Social Science
Lead City University, Ibadan
ABSTRACT
Studies on the Arab Spring have advanced economic reason as propeller
to various ugly events that have changed the face of most states in the
Middle East and North Africa. Most of this literature undermined the
influenced of external motivations and knowledge which have been
instrumental to certain occurrences in developing countries. This piece
identified existing stereotypes which have been underscored by
western thoughts and advanced an opposing narrative. This narrative
seems to gain less attention compare to western views on the issues that
surround the Arab quake. However, this investigation relied on
secondary sources of data which is mainly extant literature vis-à-vis
Marxist theories with the view of de-emphasising certain notions and
bring to the fore realities of events in the Middle East and North Africa.
Keywords: Arab spring, Marxist Analysis, Popular Notion, Economic, Pro- democracy, External factors.
INTRODUCTION
The Arab Spring is a phrase used to describe an uprising resulting from the failure of the ruling
elites to honour a consensus that bothered on the citizenry. This concept is pronounced in the field
of conflict studies that revealed why men rebel against the state that was used by Robert Ted Gurr
in his book (Gurr, 1970 and Rummel, 1977 cited in Obah-Akpowoghaha, 2013). Ted Gurr and most
Marxists believed that citizens pick arms against the state as a result of economic deprivation and
frustration in the political system (Saleh, 2013). This philosophy was also entertained in the theses
of Thomas Hobbes and John Lock on the premises of state formation. Hobbes and Lock support
citizens overthrowing the existing status quo when the contracting or pack binding the governors
and the governed is breached by the former. The Arab spring underpinned the aforementioned
philosophies resulting in the matrix whereby citizens marched against the unfavourable system.
This solidarity was described in most documentation as a pro-democracy movement against
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Obah-Akpowoghaha, N. G., Tarro, M. L., & Adekunle, O. (2020). An Appraisal and Popular Notion Surrounding The Arab Spring: The Marxist Analyses.
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 7(7) 277-284.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.77.8236 278
authoritarian and monarchical systems of government. Before this Pro-democratic movement,
studies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) focussed more of terrorism and its impact on
global peace.
Consequently, the United Nations (UN) and other international actors have adopted scholarly
recommendations arising from extensive studies yet the life span of insurgencies and terrorism has
remained intact and breeds other terrorist forces in the MENA. The act of terrorism in the MENA
has led to the loss of life and wastage in various countries which has contributed to leadership
decays in the Middle East and North Africa. The activities of the Al-Qaeda; Daesh or the Islamic State
of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL); Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP); Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
(IMU) and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) have been seen as inimical to the
development of the MENA by most liberal theses (Munir and Muhammad Shafiq, 2016). To other
climes, the identified terrorist groups are an instrument to dethroned or of enthroning and
maintaining certain Islamic doctrines, faith and culture against external values (Obah- Akpowoghaha, 2013; Meierrieks and Gries, 2013). In the course of this struggle, the Arab spring
emerged which defies the existing authoritarian and monarchical values aligning with external
values, hence, democracy as a means of survival. This investigation unearthed the matrix that
engulfed most countries in MENA vis-à-vis political leadership. Primarily this piece reflected on the
following questions as a basis further research and issue of conflict studies in the Middle East and
North Africa: what are the issues that propelled the Arab spring? What is the fate of these countries
after the uprising? Is the uprising a means or an end in itself? The aforementioned questions guide
this research and essentially provide information on whether the Arab spring was needful or
unnecessary.
In addressing this, the works of Robert Ted Gurr; Thomas Hobbes; John Lock and Karl Marx were
utilised as ideals to understand the involvement of the actors in the Arab spring. A brief historical
overview; conceptual clarification; cases; and conclusion served as the organisation of the study.
THEORIES OF CONFLICTS
Theories are fundamental principles that possess universal appeal in explaining the phenomenon
based on cause and effect which further give a foundation for a system and further investigation. In
the physical and biological sciences, theories are more direct and precise than its utility in social
sciences. This complexity occurred as a result of the object that scientist in pure sciences and those
social sciences deals with. In social science, the human-being form the centre of investigation and
specimen for the conduct of research under the purview of the human or social environment.
The human environment described the laboratory of social scientists while a confined and
controlled lab forms the centre for those in the biological and physical science. The thought of
Robert Ted Gurr, Karl Marx, John Lock and other conflict theories explain expressed certain
behaviour of human being on the grounds of why, how, when and the trajectory (Gurr, 1970 and
Rummel, 1977 cited in Obah-Akpowoghaha, 2013; Richardson, 2011; Pettigrew, 2015)
ROBERT TED GURR, KARL MARX AND JOHN LOCK THOUGHTS
The thought of Gurr on why men rebel provided information on the occurrence of war, social unrest,
ethnic clashes, terrorism and the acts of deviance in human society. For Robert Ted Gurr identified
the deplorable condition of citizens as a premise for citizens to rebel against the ruling elites (Gurr,
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol.7, Issue 7, July-2020
1970 and Rummel, 1977 cited in Obah-Akpowoghaha, 2013; Saleh, 2013). Karl Marx has a similar
belief whose doctrine is primarily anchored on the perpetual exploitation of the working class
(Proletariat) by the industrial owners (Bourgeoisie) leading to excruciating and unbearable
lifestyle. This stage was described by Marx as the evil that destroyed the economy system. For John
Lock and Thomas Hobbes, social contract theories see the occurrence of rebellion on the grounds of
breach of the social contract by the constituted authority. The aforementioned analyses revealed
that Ted Gurr; Karl Marx; John Lock; and Thomas Hobbes advocated for revolution as a desirable
condition to solve existing imbalances or inequality which explain the Arab spring.
The suicide mission committed by Mohamed Bouazizi, in December 2010 in Tunisia (Abdelsalam,
2015), revealed the aggressive animosity citizens have against the leaders of the Arab world that
justified the theses of Ted Gurr; Hobbes and John Lock. This act led to Pro-democratic movement in
Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen and other Arab states. The unpopularity style of leadership resulting
from the failure of the then government to meet up with the stated agreement built on
neopatrimonialism happened to be the root cause of the general awakening.
In Syria, revolution protest began early 2011 that seek for the removal of government led by
President Bashar Al-Assad. The aggressive demands led to a warlike affair between major factions,
the Assad loyalist and opposition forces. A similar occurrence happened in Bahraini, primarily to
gain institute rule of law in terms of political freedom; and equity Shia's people population. But these
uprisings were mitigated by the military intervention of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
supervised by Saudi Arabia. The role of the GCC did not exclude Saudi Arabia from revolutionary
symptoms. At the beginning of 2011, Saudi Arabia has already witnessed certain disaffection from
the masses leading to special provision towards the needs of the people and Gulf states witnessed
the same fate. In Jordan continuing protests have already led to three changes of cabinet and have
begun to be directed at the monarch, King Abdullah II, and his family. King Abdullah II was,
therefore, able to assuage the protesters by installing three different prime ministers in 18 months
and also accepted certain reforms (Abdelsalam, 2015),.
As of August 2012, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen governments have been toppled and
overthrown by acclaimed Pro-democratic groups. At this point, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of
Tunisian fled the country in January 2011. President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, who has been in
power for three decades submitted resignation letter in February 2011 after an ugly face-off with
the Tahrir Square demonstration. In Libyan, it takes the efforts of international military bodies
coupled with unprecedented domestic protest to successfully overthrown the leadership of
Muammar Gaddafi resulting in his death on October 20, 2011. President Ali Abdullah Saleh of
Yemeni resigned and one Abdal-Rabah Mansour Al-Hadi known as his successor officially succeeded
him in February 2012. The successes of these overthrown did not give birth to immediate peace or
end the solidarity struggle, for example, the Yemeni population still seek for self-determination and
immediate action on inequality in the country (Academic Peace Orchestra Middle East – Policy Brief,
2012).
THE MIDDLE EAST (ME) AND THE ARAB SPRING
The phrase the Middle East was brought about by a security and conflict expert Alfred Thayer
Mahan in 1902 to refer to a zone that fell within the contour of the Arabia and India. It embodied
the transcontinental area between Western Asia and Egypt. Existing literature classified the