Arab Spring Was a Revolution Started Mainly

Arab Spring was a revolution started mainly by youth and spread over the Arab and North African countries. The purpose was to attain change in the way the countries were run and in doing so attain better living conditions. Morocco was one of the nations involved in the revolution and it succeeded in attaining some form of change. The constitutional and parliament alterations limited the powers of the king along with giving more independence to the judiciary and the parliament.

Despite the political distress, the country managed to have a stable and progressing economy. However, the unemployment still remains a crucial problem for many young people. The women in Morocco were specifically highlighted in this issue. Gender equality has been looked into and is making progress with positive reforms. Review of literature The literature used was mainly articles from magazines and newspapers as this was a major issue in the media. Many reports and data sets have also been made discussing the overall impact of the revolution.

The general focus was placed in nations such as Libya and Egypt where the leader either resigned or was killed. Journals about the theory of democratization were also correlated to the issue. Body The Arab Spring is the name of a revolution that started with a plethora of wars, protests and demonstrations by the citizens since 2010. The main spread of the revolution started when a man lit himself on fire in Tunisia in December 201,.

The protests then moved on to major countries in the Arab world like Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Even though the man burned himself in December, 2010, the revolution gained momentum the next year. This revolution was distinct from all the others that occurred in different countries mainly to the unity of the Arabic citizens. Like a fire, the protests and demonstrations spread from country to country demanding for change.

It was revealed that the police took his cart and assaulted him because he was vending without a permit. Seeing how it was the man's only source of income, he went to complain about but no one took him seriously. Depressed and disappointed, he put himself on fire in front of the local municipal office. (Ryan, 2011)Following the incident, many small scale protests started with people who were victims of the same oppression.

All the people were tired of the daily problems and with the fact that these rulers have been there on the top since a long time and are just ruining the daily lives of the citizens. The Arab Spring went onto affect many countries where leaders stepped down, civil wars happen and regime changes also occurred. There have been reasons that have caused the people to reach their threshold line and demand for change. One of the factors was the presence of a mere monarchy or a dictatorship.

This form of government could have been accepted by the citizens had they not be subject to devastating living conditions. There was violation of human rights, the governments were corrupt and there was no justice. Apart from the breaking legal systems, the economic conditions were terrible with poverty, unemployment and famine reaching its peak. The most prominent changes took place in Egypt firstly. The protests began on 25 January and went on for more than 18 days.

Using Social Media as their tool, protestors gathered everywhere and began opposing the dictatorship of President Hosni Mubarak for more than 30 years. Mubarak later resigned which paved way for Egypt to have its first democratic election. Thus Following the Arab spring, the people of Egypt get democratically fair elections and a new president, Mohamed Mursi. The Arab Spring's affect on Libya was also a marked one. The demonstrations and civil war overthrew Colonel Muammar Gadaffi who had been ruling since the past 42 years.

Along with Libya, Yemen was yet another country in which led to the resign of the current President; Ali Abdullah Saleh also left power leaving for another political change in Yemen. Following a brief overview of what the Arab spring basically was, the spotlight now comes to Morocco. It was in February 2011, that the protests started off in Morocco as well. The people in Morocco did so to show unity to the revolution taking place in Egypt. The Arab Spring initially started as the Movement of February 20th.

The demonstrators engulfed the towns and streets of the country as people moved around with signs being anti-corruption. (Achy, Touhtou, & Hachimi, 2012) Subsequent to the protests and movement, many organizations and novel protest clubs have started. Now the people are not only opposing corruption but many other things which weren't right. There has been an advent of feminists, human rights activities and youth activity that wasn't there prior to the Arab spring.

(Achy, Touhtou, & Hachimi, 2012) The youth put up their fight and are now waiting for the changes to take place. Even though there have been alterations made to the constitution and the parliament, the economic conditions haven't really changed. Recently, a protest was broken up which emerged mainly due to the amount of budget allocated to the monarchy for spending. The rally was protesting against the 2013 budget.

(Reuters, 2012) The Moroccans were upset about the fact that despite the grave conditions of the country's economy King Muhammad was keeping a lot for himself. The job crisis which has cut down the spending power of the citizens has not improved even after the protests in 2011. The demonstrations consisted of sit-ins and protests mainly by the young people in Morocco. These people were seen to be raising their voice because the unjust political system was to affect their future gravely.

So many talented and educated young men and women were faced with problems finding jobs. Corruption and an oppressive government are the stem causes of their problems. The young protestors took help from social tools such as Face book to organize the demonstrations. (Belhorma, 2011) It can also be said that the youngsters of the country put their future at stake by remaining steadfast on their belief. Morocco is actually an example for the other countries where the protests were bloodless yet still attained positive results.

The demonstrations arranged were comparatively less violent. Even though there were brawls between the youth and the security in some cities, overall the demonstrations were peaceful. Another thing to note of Morocco's reform is the how responsive and cooperative the regime was. This cannot be stated about the overall consequences, yet the actions taken by the King were fast and in the favor of the protestors. The efforts put in by the protestors and the revolution did attain some sort of alteration to the political form in Morocco.

The political regime who acts according to the demands of King Muhammad VI, went on satisfy the demands of the protestors. There were orders to reform the 1996 constitution. (Belhorma, 2011) The head of the government was changed as Abelilah Benkirane of the PJD party came in the picture. In June of the same year, the King appeared on television to state that he is in favor of the alterations made to the constitution.

The King went on to state that he was in favor of the separation of the powers and the novel parliamentary implantations which would be in action. He also went on to acknowledge that there should be reduced gender discrimination. There have been constitutional changes in Morocco following the Arab Spring. The King ordered some of the alterations to take place in the constitution, yet the end powers were still in his control.

Subsequent to the constitutional changes, the prime minister now had the control of being able to induct new people in the government. The prime minister that was chosen was done so merely on the basis of the elections and the king did not have any say in it. The parliament also gained some form of strength following the Arab Spring. Now the parliament had the power to look into certain officers and only needed the support of one fifth of the members.

The Arab spring also affected the Judiciary in Morocco. Many people in Morocco often criticized for it being dependent on the King and making decisions based on what the king wants. The judiciary was now looked over by a council consisting of judges and leader of the human rights council. Gender equality and more rights for women was a big change that was demanded in the Arab spring. There has long been a struggle to attain gender equality in Morocco.

The struggles started out in 2000 when various organizations linked with human rights and women rights put in efforts. The tolerant personality of the leader also helped women go toward a better situation. (Belhorma, 2011) Thus it can be stated that the works put in by the organizations from 2000 provided the strong foundation for women to attain more rights subsequent to Arab Spring. The article 19 added in Moroccan constitutions ensures that women and men are equal inhabitants of the country in law.

The rights they have; whether it be political, economic, environmental or legal are equal. The overall alteration thus was a halt to discrimination of any sort. As of now the changes are merely seen on the constitution. The work however is just in form of laws and on paper. The implementation of the laws is much needed. The barrier in the implementation of the new rules is the lack of knowledge among many women in Morocco. (Belhorma, 2011).

The culture tends to restrict their movement and thus make them unaware of the rights that they have. The men in household are known to have more control and right over the women. The major aims of the constitutional reforms are to spread more knowledge in the women. Attempts are being made by feminist organization to equalize both genders in context of culture as well. It is however uncertain how long it will take for gender equality to be properly implemented in Morocco.

(Belhorma, 2011) The political change in Morocco has gone to affect its economy to a significant extent. Morocco has been known to have a stable and growing economy. Its key position near Spain and other African countries has given stimuli for the country to augment its trade and manufacture. The Casablanca Stock Exchange has grown to become fourth largest in Africa.(Shari,2012) The Moroccan economy stood out of all the others in the region such that it managed to show an increase despite the political uncertainty in the country.

However, many young graduates are faced with the failure when trying to find a job. The unemployment rate in Morocco is at an elevated level of 9.5%. The textile industry which makes the major chunk of exports from Morocco has been reduced due to high wage demand by the workers. Consequently, the country is also subject to a budget discrepancy of 5.5% GDP mainly due to the fuel subsidies. The government has been blamed of corruption as it was before the advent of the protests as well.

Also, it has been estimated by the World Bank that 9% of the population of Morocco resides in poverty. After Abdelilah Benkirane came to power, he hired officials trained in Europe to run the cabinet. It was one of the promises of his government to lower unemployment to 7.5%. Another one of the promised changes was an increment in salary for civil officers. All the changes promised to occur don't look likely to happen very soon.

That can be said because Europe's debt issues are pressing on the tourism sector of the country. Also, the wages of the workers cannot increase unless the tax returns augment to a certain level.(Shari,2012)Regardless of the difficulties that may seem, the new cabinet hired by the prime minister seems like learned one. It is likely that they will work on to revive the economy and act in ways that will help the people of Morocco. The five-year economic plan for the new government is yet to be revealed.

(Shari,2012) Despite the changes that are seen in Morocco's constitution, the King does have the ultimate powers. It is true that his powers are now more shared as opposed to what they were before. (Belhorma, 2011)The king still remains the religious authority of the country and the chief of military. He has the right to take out ministers and also dissolve the parliament. With the new Justice and Development Party in government and a new Islamist prime minister of the country, it doesn't appear as if a lot has changed.

The Prime Minister is keen to bring changes to the economy and to the conditions of the country. Many of the citizens argue that the King still has the ultimate power in the country. Morocco is one of the countries whose monarchies have acted in favor of the protestors. Despite the changes made, there has been no overthrowing or resignation. In the end result, the monarchy still remained as the head of the state and steady in its position.

(Bauer&Schiller,2012) As mentioned earlier, the King would remain as the religious authority. This fact is in turn supported by the fact that the prime minister and the party that came into power are also an Islamist party. Theoretical Approach The theory of democratization is fit for the change that was brought about in Morocco. Democratization is basically the transition of political system into a more democratic regime. The alteration can be from total dictatorship to a democracy or it can be partial democracy as well.

As in case of Morocco, as of now it remains a partial democracy with monarchy also having control over the system. The type of democracy where the outcome has completely resorted to democracy and isn't likely to return to authoritarian regime would be then known as consolidation. The theoretical framework is basically that the initial conditions of the country or region call for there to be changes in certain structures.

In this instance, the youth and the people who demonstrated showed that the initial conditions of the country needed some changes. Their part was played as people wanting change in the political system. There is no guarantee that the decision makers, which in this case would be King of Morocco, understood completely what the people were asking for. The problems and issues that reach the decision makers are affected by how the culture is around them.

Either it is the political party they are or basically by the society they live in. In this instance, the King of Morocco would surely not wish to abandon a post he has held for so many years. This explains why the end result in Morocco wasn't a complete democracy after all. The institutions that receive the issues then go on to act and make changes in the system. In a nutshell, decisions are made that affect the political outcomes of the country. Surely, the system.