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Arab League map

Mapping the Arab world

Feb 17th 2011, 14:52 by The Economist online

A statistical hub containing key data from all the countries of the Arab League

SINCE Tunisians rose up and ejected their leader, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who had ruled the country for 23 years, the scent of jasmine has spread through the Arab world. Egyptian protesters ousted their president, Hosni Mubarak, in just 18 days, after three decades under his rule. Algeria, Libya, Yemen, Jordan, Bahrain and Oman have all seen brave demonstrations by people fed up with being denied a voice and a vote. Despite having a democracy of sorts, Iraq has joined in too. The map below presents key indicators for each member of the Arab League.

 

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Feb 17th 2011 3:24 GMT

"brave demonstrations by people fed up with being denied a voice and a vote"

This is just ideological fodder. The real issues are things like inflation, unemployment, social inequality etc. If you have a really competent government it really doesn't matter if it is authoritarian or popularly elected so long as it takes care of these needs. That's what the protestors want.

I love the spin that every country puts on these whole protests:

Iran: This is an Islamic revolution!!
United States and EU: This is a pro-democracy movement!!!
China: These are riots instigated by minorities!!!
Russia: This is an protest against America!!!

I was hoping a sober voice like the Economist would reflect a more rational view.

FFScotland wrote:
Feb 17th 2011 3:41 GMT

Jeremy I believe there's a certain "ideological fodder" in your response too. Why not put it the other way: a really competent government doesn't need to be authoritarian. If you rank all governments you can find a strong correlation between competence and accountability.

Feb 17th 2011 3:46 GMT

Jeremy, economics and incompetence were certainly factors in Egypt and Tunisia. But Bahrain is relatively wealthy and relatively well-run, so the protesters there are almost certainly driven by a desire for democracy and a stake in the running of their country. And in Egypt and Tunisia, the authoritarian system of government got blamed - probably appropriately - for those nations' economic woes, so dismissing the democracy motive is somewhat foolish.

Faedrus wrote:
Feb 17th 2011 3:57 GMT

In going through the data, the countries featured appear to be often poor, with little to no democracy, and corrupt.

Call me crazy, but I don't think there being a rash of demonstrations there appears to be all that complicated...

branvan wrote:
Feb 17th 2011 4:57 GMT

its funny to see how ridiculously small Israel is compared to all the Arab states. you can hardly see it on the map. Gives a different view on the Jewish-Arab conflict.

branvan wrote:
Feb 17th 2011 5:04 GMT

Wowbagger:
The real reason for the unrest in Baharain is the fact that it is a majority Shi'a state governed by a Sunni regime. Iran is taking adventage of the situation and is trying to tilt Baharain to becoming a Shi'a state loyal to Iran (which is also Shi'a) by "popular democratic" uprising.

Feb 17th 2011 5:36 GMT

FFScotland:

What you said is valid, but my point was never that democracy is not a good thing, nor was it that people are NOT protesting for democracy. My point was that there are numerous interpretations of events and that every one of us, including those of us in the 'enlightened' West, tend to see things in our own coloured lenses. Too much reporting has been focused on an external perspective, on ideological overtones, and not enough on the ordinary people on the streets and their true grievances.

There were a couple of blogs written by Egyptians in Cairo at the time of the protests, for example, that highlighted a totally different picture to what was being reported in the media. There was certainly a measure of chaos, but also hope, uncertainty, and despair. There were certainly supporters of these regimes and state-sponsored thugs, and the distinction is not as black-and-white. Pro-Mubarak hardliners in the army controlled groups of soldiers who are brothers and colleagues of the people chanting on the streets. Some protestors looted, other protestors tried to stop this looting. These things are not one-dimensional events - there is no single narrative - and to focus reporting on labeling it a "pro-democracy movement" is just a very shallow and misleading (albeit not incorrect) view of the situation.

Indeed, elements of the protests were "pro-democracy", even pro "Western" forms of democracy. But there was also Anti-American sentiment, there was definitely Islamist groups involved driving their own ideologies, and some protests are indeed being manipulated by minority groups who have neither democracy nor long-term stability in their interests. My comment was to point to the multi-dimensional nature of the protests, and to ask people to heed pragmatism, objectivism, and a reasonable level of critical thinking in the face of world-changing events. That, in my view, should be the expected of every reader on the Economist.

8372798 wrote:
Feb 17th 2011 5:37 GMT

Branvan:

Why the quotation marks around "popular democratic"?

Bahrain as you point out is a majority Shi'a state ruled by a Sunni minority. Any popular uprising would likely have a sectarian element of Shi'a vs Sunni. That the Shi'a in Bahrain might be inclined toward stronger ties with majority Shi'a Iran does not seem surprising. I don't doubt that Iran is encouraging the discord there, but I do doubt that it has created it out of nothing. I may be a idealist, but I do think that people ultimately want some say in their governance. Currently people in many North African and Mid-eastern states lack any such input AND they live with high levels of corruption coupled with lack of economic opportunity. The current order has maintained stability by coercion for years and it's not surprising that the people in this region are rising up. Each country will have its own particular issues and motivations for revolt and will express whatever freedom they find (if any) in different ways, some not necessarily meeting with western approval.

TheGrimReaper wrote:
Feb 17th 2011 5:54 GMT

Since the Tunisian upheaval in January, the Arab world has suddenly awoken and now turns into an explosive and menacing powder keg. The slightest sparkle is very likely to enflamme any member of the league. Experts predicted a non-contagion because Tunisia economic and political backdrop was pretty unique, though they happenned to be blatantly wrong. Early projections are too murky to be deemed reliable. The next one to run through the chopping block should be Yemen, even though the regular popular protests are still badly snuffed out.
In spite of a the Yemen's government staunch determination to squelch the most virulent protesters in a relentless fashion, the people ire will anyway outdo any bid to re-establish order and exceed any violent clampdown. This year turns out to be a watershed moment in the Arab political story. At last democracy is supposedly in the offing.

jouris wrote:
Feb 17th 2011 7:53 GMT

I really wish you had broken out Somaliland from the rest of Somalia. It may not have formal recognition as a separate country. But other than formal recognition, it looks to be doing the things that would be expected of a country. And doing them much better than Somalia does them elsewhere.

An Drew wrote:
Feb 17th 2011 9:20 GMT

Jeremy,

Perhaps, like Hobbes, you have missed some other desired things by people. Besides food, employment and equality, I only guess that these people also want freedom as well as having the opportunity to set their own destiny. Unless they are of a thoroughly different breed of human beings.

Will@Moor wrote:
Feb 17th 2011 10:27 GMT

@FFScotland
A really competent government doesn't need to be authoritarian.

You can put it like this too: An authoritarian government doesn't necessarily be uncompetant.
Example: Singapore.

My point is: many of us hold a too simplified view: if it's revolution, it's great; if it's not democracy, it's devil.

The result of this vague of revolutions or riots in Arabic World still needs more time to see. It turns out to really make things better WITH AN ACCEPTABLE COST or not is still a question.

We all hope for the best, but how to achieve it, this would be complicated. Let's hope that each country would find their own solution but not blindly copy another country.
I mean... French revolutionists have cut the head of their king, but the British have chosen to keep the "old fashion". In US, it's the President who is in power, but in Germany not. In France, main debate is right or left, in Taiwan or Republic of China, it's independent of stay in "One China".

After all, I hope also this would help the Middle East to get out of the contradiction of oil and poverty.

stonebird wrote:
Feb 17th 2011 10:52 GMT

I find that your map lacks a key figure. That of wheat prices in each country.

It is NOT the rich that are revolting but the hungry and those discriminated against. GDP per person is a ridiculous figure (for example in Egypt), if Mubarak (70 billion), Gamal (17 billion) and the other son (8 billion) are included. (Plus the military and politicians of course)-

Just count the percent of people living in financial misery as a percentage of the total population.

Wheat prices - you should also have noticed that speculation in commodities has pushed wheat out of the price range of most poor people. The countries that suffer the most are also the ones where people can no longer afford to eat. Try making a map of the per-capita import of wheat (there is a table already, but I can't find it again offhand) and seeing just how closely it corresponds to the unrest. (UAE and Israel were high on the list as well as Tunis and Egypt!)

Feb 18th 2011 1:44 GMT

If the Middle East‘s riot continue and new riots happen on other places, debt crisis in the euro zone continue, US will become a aharbour of refuge, a biggest beneficiary, dictators and oil billionaires’ money transfer will save the American. In fact, US is benefitting from riots, the foreign market need of US bonds has a significant increase since Egypt’s riot.

World WarⅡ has help US out of the crisis. So I hope that a series of recent riots around the world isn’t a part of CIA’ plan. Otherwise, new riots, Conflicts even medium and small wars around the world will constantly happen in hot regions such as the Middle East ,Southeast Asia,Caucasus region and so on.In the years to come,more arms sales,more "freedom fighters",more Conflicts and wars……

Houshu wrote:
Feb 18th 2011 5:03 GMT

AP reported protesting in Iraq, some protesters killed by police...It’s not democracy, stupid.

Feb 18th 2011 7:53 GMT

Nice article.....

Froy'' wrote:
Feb 18th 2011 8:29 GMT

Did anyone realize how many Arab rulers took power on years finishing in 9?

1969: Ghaddafi (Libya)
1989: Al Bashir (Sudan)
1999: Mohammed VI (Morocco), Bouteflika (Algeria), Omar (Djibuti), Abdulah II (Jordan), Al Khalifa (Bahrain)
2009: Ould (Mauritania), Ahmed (Somalia)

Silly, I know, but isn't it curious?

JollyRogerII wrote:
Feb 18th 2011 9:33 GMT

@ Jeremy / FFScotland: C'mon guys you're all wrong (and right). Haven't you heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs? Man first needs food, shelter etc. Once those have been met, "higher" needs need to be met all the way up to self actualisation. It's a case of horses for courses, in some countries it's high food prices, in others it's an autocratic government - it depends.

Maronite75 wrote:
Feb 18th 2011 10:35 GMT

For information, the leader of Lebanon is Michel Suleiman and not Najib Mikati (prime minister).

Thank you

ZEROUAEU wrote:
Feb 18th 2011 1:51 GMT

at branvan :

Try to think about the US - Europe support to Israel and about its nuclear weapon and the corruption of the Arab rulers. Israel wouldn't stand without the support .

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