Sunday, March 6, 2011

What Comes Next After The Egyptian, Tunisian, And Libyan Revolutions



After Libya, Egypt, And Tunisia, What Comes Next? -- Christian Science Monitor

Pro-democracy warriors in Middle Eastern countries such as Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia push through barriers of fear only to find a constellation of needs, demands, and problems on the other side.

The night the dictator fell, the euphoric scenes in Cairo's "Liberation" Square encapsulated like nothing else the promise of democratic change sweeping across the Arab world.

For those sweating amid the crush of the crowd during that moment of history in Egypt on Feb. 11, the monumental challenges that await were briefly subsumed by the full-blooded joy on the streets. Egyptians were in shock, as their courageous upheaval against the three-decade rule of Hosni Mubarak also toppled longstanding conventional wisdom of Arab politics marked by apathy and incompatible with democracy. But those blessings are not welcomed by all, as the question of "What next?" looms.

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My Comment: As someone whose nationality is Russian, I am only too familiar on where revolutions tend to end up .... and it is usually not a pleasant place. But will the Arab uprisings be different .... hmmm .... from my point of view I am not optimistic. A large population of unemployed youth, Islamic militancy, coupled with grievances that goes back generations .... I do not see how a change in government can change all of this in any reasonable length of time, especially changing the culture of corruption that now permeates many of the institutions that run and rule the Middle East.

I could be wrong .... let us see what happens in the next 6 - 12 months.

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