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Youth, Those Anti-Heroes of the Arab Spring

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Youth, Those Anti-Heroes of the Arab Spring The Awakening of the Civil Society in the Mediterranean Youth, those Anti-Heroes of the Arab Spring Sylvie Floris of these young people, who have taken and continue Professor, to take the forefront at protests and revolts, who surf Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris the social networks and “put the yeast in the dough Dossier without always being able to enjoy the bread.” the role of Youth as Civil Society actors during the arab Spring and democratic a tangle of Events transitions 2012 On 17 December 2010, young Mohamed Bouazizi Med. This article follows up on two studies on youth poli- immolated himself in the town of Sidi Bouzid, Tuni- cies in Tunisia1 and Morocco2 published by the Eu- sia, after the confiscation of his vegetable cart by the ropean Commission in 2009. The great unease and police. Less than a month later, on 14 January 2011, tension among the youth of these countries at that Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, who had been in power time had been widely discussed and there was al- since 7 November 1987, fled the country, driven out ready talk of a youth torn between “rebellion and by the cries of “clear out!” chanted by the crowds for 103 submission,” a situation premonitory of the events of weeks on end. Only a month later, on 11 February, it 2010 and 2011. was the turn of the Egyptian rais, Mohammed Hosni The aim here, a year later, is to define the place of Mubarak, to leave, toppled by unprecedented popu- youth in the South Mediterranean countries, their lar protests. In the same period, Yemen, Jordan, Bah- place in society, in terms of social and political force. rain, Libya, Syria – all of these States were caught up We will also emphasise the terms “civil society” and in the same revolutionary fever. In Algeria, the gov- “democratic transition,” for all too often, concepts ernment attempted to stifle the attempts at revolt by and analyses from North Mediterranean countries purchasing peace via the distribution of petrodollars are hastily transposed, in general, with those from and stepping up military pressure. The Moroccan the West, comprised of democratic States with par- monarchy was quick to offer an early reform of its liamentary and pluralist traditions wholly different to constitution which limited the political prerogatives South and East Mediterranean States. of the King without undermining his immense eco- The geographic ensemble of the Mediterranean Ba- nomic privileges. By the end of the summer of 2011, sin is criss-crossed by tensions and often also mis- Libya, with the intervention of NATO forces, freed it- understandings between societies on the North and self from Muammar Gaddafi’s yoke after extremely South shores, such that the events that continue to violent armed confrontation. In March of that year, disrupt the established order of the Arab States are the Bahraini population was crushed by military forc- read and analysed in Northern countries based on es supported by the forces of the oil monarchies frames of reference often at variance with reality. It panicked by the risk of contagion in their States. The seems necessary to us in this article to review all of Syrians continue to face, in blood and tears, the fierce these concepts and delve into the complex situation repression of Bashar al-Assad’s troops. We do not 1 www.salto-youth.net/downloads/4-17-1871/09-EuroMedJeunesse-Etude_TUNISIA.pdf? 2 www.salto-youth.net/downloads/4-17-1867/06-EuroMedJeunesse-Etude_MOROCCO.pdf? yet know the outcome of this conflict, which has Is it the concentration of power and misuse of com- taken the form of a civil war, but what is certain is mon property for the benefit of a few that have con- that the regime is discredited by now. tributed to this geographic area, including oil-pro- This leads us to the following assessment: in less ducing States, being the only area on the planet to than ten months, the geopolitics of Maghreb, Mashreq have made little progress in recent decades, as and Middle East countries and Gulf States has been evinced by the reports of the United Nations Devel- either shattered or altered by “revolutions” as sud- opment Programme (UNDP)? The figures are stag- den as they were unexpected, breaking the image of gering: one in five people live on less than two dol- immobility of Arab societies often circulated by the lars a day. The current period is characterised by West and allowing them to “make history.” significant absolute poverty levels, which are even growing in some States, such as Egypt, where it af- fects nearly one fifth of the population, and Yemen, arab Societies Were Experiencing “Social with nearly 50% of the population in the category of Fatigue” absolute poverty. The (official) unemployment rate is Dossier approaching 20%, 23% of those over 15 are illiter- In the face of these historic changes whose deter- ate and more than 17% of the population is function- mining factors we do not fully know or control, it is ally illiterate despite the sharp rise in overall literacy, worth remembering how these Arab societies were not to mention the high maternal death rate and the experiencing a kind of “social fatigue” because of the underrepresentation of women in the political sphere 2012 political, economic and societal factors that contrib- (parliaments have only 8% women MPs as opposed uted to “anesthetise” and even paralyse them. A sort to a world average of 18%). Med. of “cartelisation” of power coupled with tighter secu- rity progressively gained ground within State re- gimes. Nothing portended a renewal of leaders in this We can assert that individuals of frozen plebiscitary system at any time soon. Groups these societies, in particular monopolising violent coercion played – and in some 104 young people, were in a position cases still play – a considerable role in society. “The phenomenon of multiplication of armed forces of “sub-citizens,” which explains and police is a common feature in many authoritarian why the first word to be chanted states in which the process of institutionalisation re- at demonstrations was “dignity” mains incomplete. The duplication and sometimes the escalation between armed forces and police, armed forces and intelligence services, State armed Add to this state of affairs a demographic context forces and State militias and State and private armed that makes public policy difficult in these States: forces reveal the regime’s mistrust of its military and 65% of the population is under 25 years of age and security agents.” (Elisabeth Picard, Armée et sécu- the average age of the population has just reached rité au cœur de l’autoritarisme). 22 (as compared to a global average of 28 years of Recall to what degree Western post-11 September age), despite a sharp, rapid decline in fertility rate in anti-terrorism policies had contributed to strength- the Maghreb (the rate has gone from six children ening the security complex, a strengthening up that born per woman in the 1980s to just over two now). was done at the expense of States’ responsibilities All of these factors profoundly modify intergeneration- in the social, educational and health spheres. These al relations and the organisation of society. They shed societies were imbued with fear of repression in all light on the internal conflicts that endure in these so- its forms. It was this fear that gave youth the strength cieties, conflicts largely underestimated by Western- to form a “bloc” and advance while regimes expect- ers, who are moved by security imperatives, anxieties ed their retreat. relating to Islam and economic interests and display a The security priority in these States had favoured the rather condescending attitude towards them. reduction of their sovereign functions, which were In light of these observations, we can assert, as Vá- taken up by many NGOs, trade associations or guilds clav Havel does in his political essay “The Power of and civil society organisations that stepped in to as- the Powerless,” that individuals of these societies, in suage the collapse of the political regulation of society. particular young people, were in a position of “sub- citizens,” which explains why the first word to be demographic transition, “the 20-30 age group has chanted at demonstrations was “dignity.” never comprised a proportion as high as today’s among the population over 20, and most probably never will again.” In fact, in Arab countries, the most What “Civil Society” are We talking about? massive arrival of youth on the labour market is history. We must thus partially rule out the motif of the demo- Before discussing the organisation of civil society, we graphic explosion as a factor in the Arab Spring and must first refer to a form ofdissent through the affir- turn towards social and economic insights. Young mation of the individual and the desire to maintain so- people are still far too numerous for the labour mar- cial ties in truth and transparency despite everything. ket’s absorption capacity, which is why the unemploy- Although comparison doesn’t prove anything, Václav ment rates for this age group (15-24 years of age) are Havel’s words on the Prague Spring in “The Power very high, reaching 30% in Egypt and 32% in Mo- of the Powerless” resound cannily: “Today it is diffi- rocco, with major geographic disparities in inland ar- cult to ascertain when and by which sinuous paths a eas. In December 2010, young Mohamed Bouazizi’s particular act or genuine attitude influenced a given immolation in Sidi Bouzid, where two thirds of the Dossier milieu and how the virus of truth gradually spread population in the region is unemployed, is sympto- through the tissues of life within the lie and began matic of the sentiment of despair among youth in attacking it.
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