Relative Location

Political challenges of North Africa

The political protests began in 2011 all over the Middle East and North Africa. Mass opposition spread among Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen. Regions faced political and economic challenges which distinguished the civil uprisings. The size and contagious over spilled the discontent. Because of the autocratic rulers, narrow social support of base was revealed. The autocratic leaders relied on the use of coercion and threat of force.

The 2011 civil uprisings sparked the protests that originated in North Africa. Tunisia in 2010 followed the self-immolation. Strong feeling of helplessness and lack of opportunities spread in the region. The population comprising of youth lacked various opportunities of growth in future for employment and advancement. This protest exposed the authoritarian regimes and elders who failed to manage and meet the demands of the youth in a vast changing global economy. Youth demanded a meaningful change to change the perception of the society and to create a hope in the existing political system to create ways for growth and advancement. Global processes and pressures caught the regional leaders in this protest and regional changes (Alfred, 2005).

In fact, there is an urgent need to reflect on the serious implications of what will happen in the future of rebuilding the state and ways to avoid the elements of disintegration and prospects of reconstruction in cases witnessed by the financial institutions, administrative and in the forefront of enterprise security and interior. The developments that followed the revolutions of Tunisia and Egypt indicated that the boiling scene in the Arab region will extend along the year, and that the second half of the political dynamic in the region will be harder than starting from next summer i.e. restructuring the political and essential elements (Zuhur, 65).

Political challenges of SW Asia

Libya was ruled by Gadhafi since 1969. Protests in Libya began when the demonstrators were fed up of his regime. They broke into a government's housing project and occupied it. When police detained relatives of those who were killed in an alleged 1996 massacre in Abu Salim prison, demonstrations sparked in the city. High unemployment has also fueled the protests.

Demonstrations started in Bahrain to demand reforms and introduction of a monarchy based on constitution. Removal of the royal family was called. It led to the isolation of Persian Gulf since the 18th century. Shiite Muslims started violent protests against discrimination in society. They complained about unemployment, corruption and opportunity of less growth in their future (ICG, 15).

On February 11, 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak fled the country, effectively stepping down from office. His departure was the culmination of a movement against his regime in which pro-democracy protesters effectively shut down much of the country. Mubarak had ruled Egypt for more than 30 years, enjoying strong support from the U.S. for most of that time, even though his regime accorded Egyptians few basic freedoms. The Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings have prompted a swelling of pro-democracy demonstrators in the Middle East, Persian Gulf and North ...