MIDDLE EAST - Looking at the Results of the 'Arab Spring'

"Nations inflamed by Arab Spring yield different fates" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 2/19/2014

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JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour):  It was just over three years ago that demonstrations engulfed Tunisia, inspired by a street vendor who set himself ablaze to protest corruption and intimidation.

In the process, he ignited a revolution across the region.  But the uprisings and protests from Morocco to Oman, what came to be known as the Arab spring, have yielded decidedly mixed results.

The best may be in Tunisia itself, where Secretary of State John Kerry visited yesterday, praising the nation’s progress.

JOHN KERRY, Secretary of State:  I want to congratulate Prime Minister Jomaa and the Tunisian people on the very difficult road that they have navigated and the successful way in which they have moved through a very difficult transition to democratic rule.

JEFFREY BROWN:  The transition began when the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali gave way to more unrest, as Islamists and secular groups competed for influence.  The economy worsened.  Assassinations of two powerful left-wing politicians eroded trust between parties.  And attacks by an al-Qaida-linked faction stoked fears of a takeover by radical Islamists.

Despite it all, last month, the National Assembly approved a new constitution now being hailed as one of the Arab world’s most progressive.

RACHED GHANNOUCHI, President, Ennahda Party (through interpreter):  Our people succeeded in making a peaceful revolution that enlightened the world.  We succeed to avoid a civil war between us.  But we achieved consensus.

JEFFREY BROWN:  There’s been no such consensus in Libya, Tunisia’s neighbor to the east.  Two well-armed militias have demanded the interim parliament resign.  Today, they extended their deadline to Friday.

"Looking to the past to understand Arab Spring struggles and success" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 2/19/2014

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  What differentiates Tunisia in its progress establishing a young democracy, while other countries inspired by the Arab Spring have floundered?  What are the lasting consequences for nations that have plunged into long-term conflict?  Jeffrey Brown asks for an assessment from Hisham Melhem of Al-Arabiya, Mary-Jane Deeb of the Library of Congress and Tarek Masoud of Harvard University.