This usage usually carries a pejorative sense and refers to a ruler who. It was used to topple mubarak in egypt, in the revolution in lebanon and to overthrow the autocrat in maldives. Jeanclaude baby doc duvalier became the youngest president in the world when he took over haiti following the death of his father francois in 1971. A nationbynation look at arab spring dictators and their fate. Mubarak was overthrown in february in just 18 days after holding the reins of power since 1981. Spurred by the arab spring that had successfully toppled the governments of tunisia and. How would be the arabs if they werent ruled by dictators.
Their book blueprint for revolution has been a blueprint indeed. Anwar sadat was the first arab to receive the nobel peace prize. The unfinished revolutions of the new middle east, he sets out to put the events of the arab uprising into perspective and to create a. Libya, and syria, where it has served as a guiding light of the arab spring. Libyan strongman moammar gadhafi the latest dictator to fall. From dictatorship to democracy is the remarkable work that has made the. Opinion the arab spring started in iraq the new york times. Arab spring rebellions spread across north africa and. On, learn more about muammar alqaddafi, who seized control of the libyan government in 1969, and ruled as an authoritarian dictator for more than 40 years before he was overthrown. Thats after arab spring revolutions toppled the dictators who ruled there for decades. Rules by decree, via an enabling act or similar laws passed by a legislature allowing him to do so. A wave of demonstrations and protests has been going on in many arab countries of the middle east and northern africa since the end of 2010 revolutions have taken place in tunisia and egypt.
From dictatorship to democracy is virtually the handbook for almost peaceful overthrow of repressive regimes, the manual consulted by revolutionary leadership throughout the middle east, from tunis to. From the tunisian leader who fled after a monthlong uprising that sparked the arab spring, to. It took a little more than three weeks, from late march to early april 2003, for american forces to topple the iraqi regime. Western democracies supported more dictators than elected leaders in the arab world throughout the past decades so its clear that the principle is not about democracy, so in that hypothetical world, they would have to deal with countries that decide for the good of their own people. She is a cofounder of the solutions journalism network, which supports. Look to the arab spring as an example of dictators overthrown by these modern forces. By soy taing this writing has shown that the dictators, tyrans will not survive under the modern day technologies and powerful media. In libya, meanwhile, authoritarian dictator colonel muammar qaddafi was overthrown in october 2011, during a violent civil war, and he was. The accusation against alghitani did not come from nowhere, it was based on the fact that alghitani had published a book in the mid 70s praising the iraqi army. Which arab spring countries recently overthrew dictators. The aim of arab dictators is to create fear of civil war. Saleh was one of four autocrats ousted during the arab spring prodemocracy protests that began in tunisia in december 2010 and eventually gripped much of the middle east and north africa. Feel free to add any other dictators you feel deserve a mention in the comments.
Gaddafi was long one of the arab worlds most infamous and unpredictable figures. Nonviolent movements have toppled dictators all over the globe, in mali, serbia, poland, bolivia, the philippines, east germany, latin america, and africa. The dictators of the middle east have a morbid love affair with power. During the arab spring, it became clear that the power of nonviolence to overthrow tyrannical governments is giving new hope and new revolutionary strategies to people around the world.
I gave the dubious honor of first place to omar albashir of sudan. The simple wisdom of arab dictators raymond ibrahim. The arab spring movement is the rebellion of the arab peoples against their tyrannical dictators. Multiple romanian dictators have died violently, one of which was an ally of adolf hitler during the. He governed libya as revolutionary chairman of the libyan arab republic from 1969 to 1977, and then as the brother leader of the great socialist peoples libyan arab jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011. The answer is related to the popular adage possibly of arab origin, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. This short, pithy, inspiring, and extraordinarily clear guide to overthrowing a dictatorship. A freshfaced 19yearold, duvalier initially tried to institute limited reforms, but ultimately he maintained many of the policies of his fathers ruthless, dictatorial regime. Saleh was one of four autocrats ousted during the arab spring prodemocracy protests that began in tunisia in december 2010 and. How to topple a dictator peacefully the new york times. The transformation of systems of government is correlated with the average level of literacyeducationequality in society. The men who stole africa and over 8 million other books are available for amazon kindle. So far a number of murderous dictators have been overthrown. Snyderwine puts forth complex mathematical formulas that show a dictator how to stay in power with.
The libyan leader muammar gaddafi was overthrown on 23 august 2011, after the national transitional. On april 9, 2003, baghdad fell to an americanled coalition. Tina rosenberg won a pulitzer prize for her book the haunted land. President hosni mubarak, who was overthrown with such rejoicing at the beginning of the revolution in 2011, was perhaps not the worst of the arab dictators.
The drama, excitement, and sense of possibility created by bin alis night escape to saudi arabia or mubaraks resignation have given way to a mournful reality. What happened in tunisia, egypt, and libya during the arab. The following is a list of national leaders heads of state andor heads of government commonly regarded as modern dictators. Good news for arabs, maybe not for the rest of the world. Omar albashir, worlds worst dictator, overthrown at last. Now, years later, bashir has finally been overthrown. The middle east might just be a problem that cant be. Arab spring uprisings were one of the most remarkable events seen in the history as a struggle for democracy against the dictators throughout middle east and north africa. The arab uprisings and the death of north koreas kim jong il may be. Buy from dictatorship to democracy main by gene sharp isbn. Electing presidents, overthrowing dictators, and promoting democracy around the world schoen, douglas e.
The egyptian novelist youssif alqaid once pictured saddam on a high chair, narrating his naive epics to his scribes, watching them be made effortlessly into books. Id never heard of from dictatorship to democracy, but when i learned that the book had been used by revolutionaries as an instruction manual for nonviolently working to topple dictatorships in iran, venezuela, serbia, tibet, vietnam, china, pakistan, the former soviet union, the countries of the arab spring and elsewhere, my curiosity was peaked. The peoples efforts to overthrow the dictators, and achieve a democratic transition for their countries were appreciated by the international community. Friedman writes that the rage of arab youth is the result of the way too many arab regimes, backed by america, have kept their young people without a voice. The first arab dictator to fall sparked the promise of the arab spring when he fled the country. In libya a civil war went on for months in an attempt to overthrow muammar gaddafi. In both arab countries leaders had to resign and transfer their power. Muammar gaddafi muammar gaddafi and the top 15 overthrown. Tracking down money stolen by arab dictators tunisia, egypt and libya are all forming new governments. The fiction of saddam and gaddafi cover underneath them a world of violence in which the arab intellectual is once again contested and compromised. A power that can overthrow dictatorships street spirit. The arab awakening the end of a dictator as protest and revolution shake the arab world, this series of films document the arab awakening, offering fresh insights into what happened and why. Smashwords how the world leaders get overthrown arab. His books brought about the uprising in egypt that got rid of their longterm dictator.
A nationbynation look at arab spring dictators and their. What became of the arab springs ousted dictators the. I found that my first list of crazy dictators lacked several dictators that were also insane yes, sadly there have been so many that we can produce multiple lists of them. Since its a hypothetical question, i will go wild and say that if it werent for arab dictators, we wouldnt be talking about arabs as an identity in the first place. The dictator of tunisia was overthrown and the protests eventually inspired similar uprisings in arab worlds largest country, egypt. They believe that the potential of nonviolence is underestimated and it is a proven method for overthrowing dictators.
Whether you agree with ramadans interpretation of events or vision for the future of the muslimmajority nations, islam and the arab awakening is a thoughtful and nuanced examination of the events others have termed the arab spring. Unfortunately, the man who led the military coup that overthrew bashir is general awad ibn ouf, who, since 2006, has been financially sanctioned by the u. News, television, radio broadcasting coupled with smarter and wiser population on. Of all the illfated revolutions of the arab spring, none started more optimistically. In the context of arab dictators and christian minorities, however, the adage changes slightly to, the enemy of infidels is my enemy. It is not that these dictators have not learned the lesson.
There is no question that ramadan supports the rule of law, freedom of religion, and the right of self. The removal of saddam hussein and the toppling of a whole succession of other arab dictators. The book is billed as providing the blueprint for the colour revolutions as well as inspiring many of those involved in the socalled arab spring. The simple wisdom of arab dictators 02072014 by raymond ibrahim 5 comments after my recent articles documenting how the u. The arab spring was a series of prodemocracy uprisings that enveloped several largely muslim countries, including tunisia, morocco, syria, libya, egypt and shows this day in history. Of the 21 member states of the arab league, only six have experienced concerted challenges to their regimes, and in only four were dictators overthrown. Jeanclaude duvalier muammar gaddafi and the top 15.
This book helps us understand the complex politics of the middle east since the. Egypt was successful in overthrowing hussni mubarak and the democratic party of the muslim brotherhood took over. In libya the arab spring turned into a full blown civil war which ended with the death of gaddafi. This has long meant that, whoever is at odds with my enemy becomes my natural friend and ally. Why didnt the removal of the dictators work and why is. When asked about overthrowing dictators he pointed out the following. What became of the arab springs ousted dictators washington post. She is a former editorial writer for the times and the author, most recently, of join the club. Marines helped an iraqi crowd overturn a statue of dictator saddam hussein in baghdads firdos square on april 9, the man himself was long gone, having melted into the chaos of his collapsed regime. The middle east might just be a problem that cant be solved least of all by arab dictators if you topple a dictator you have chaos today.
After 42 years in power in libya, muammar gaddafi met his demise oct. Arab identity and pan arab ideology got mainstream because of one very loved d. Time takes a look at other dictators who were overthrown by their own people. But, as marc lynch explains in his brilliant new book, the arab uprising. How peer pressure can transform the world and the world war ii spy story e book d for deception. Even the countries that have overthrown veteran tyrants this year are.
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