2011 Arab Spring

Arab Spring
Protesters in Tunis (January 2011)
Date	17 December 2010 – December 2012
Location	North Africa, Middle East (i.e. "Arab world")
Caused by	Authoritarianism Demographic structural factors 2000s energy crisis Political corruption Human rights violations Inflation Sectarianism Unemployment Self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi
Goals	Democracy Free elections Economic freedom Human rights Employment Regime change
Methods	Civil disobedience Civil resistance Defection Demonstrations Insurgency Internet activism Protest camps Revolution Riots Self-immolation Silent protests Sit-ins Social Media Strike actions Urban warfare Uprising
Resulted in	Tunisia: President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ousted, charged, exiled and government overthrown. Egypt: President Hosni Mubarak ousted, arrested, charged, and government overthrown. Libya: Leader Muammar Gaddafi killed following a civil war that saw a foreign military intervention, and government overthrown. Yemen: President Ali Abdullah Saleh ousted, and power handed to a national unity government. Syria: President Bashar al-Assad faces civil uprising against his rule that deteriorates into armed rebellion and eventual full-scale civil war. Bahrain: Civil uprising against the government crushed by authorities and Saudi-led intervention. Kuwait, Lebanon and Oman: Government changes implemented in response to protests. Morocco and Jordan: Constitutional reforms implemented in response to protests. Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Mauritania, and other Arab countries: Protests.
Casualties
Death(s)	hundreds of thousands killed (International estimate; see table below)

The Arab Spring (Arabic: الربيع العربي‎ ar-Rabīʻ al-ʻArabī), also referred to as Arab revolutions (Arabic: الثورات العربية‎ aṯ-'awrāt al-ʻarabiyyah), was a revolutionary wave of both violent and non-violent demonstrations, protests, riots, coups and civil wars in North Africa and the Middle East that began on 17 December 2010 in Tunisia with the Tunisian Revolution.

The Tunisian Revolution effect spread strongly to five other countries: Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain, where either the regime was toppled or major uprisings and social violence occurred, including civil wars or insurgencies. Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Iranian Khuzestan, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Sudan. Minor protests occurred in Djibouti, Mauritania, the Palestinian National Authority, Saudi Arabia, and the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world is ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām ("the people want to bring down the regime").