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Arabska wiosna
Wohin entwickeln sich die arabischen Staaten?
Im Frühjahr 2011 hat die islamische Jugend begonnen, die politische Ordnung vieler arabischer Länder auf den Kopf zu stellen. Tunesien, Ägypten, Libyen, Jemen, Syrien, Bahrain-die Probleme in diesen Ländern ähneln sich, es herrschen politische Unterdrückung, Korruption, Polizeifolter, Arbeits- und Perspektivlosigkeit der sehr jungen Bevölkerung. ARD-Korrespondent Jörg Armbruster zeigt, wie sich diese jungen Menschen nun als Hoffnungsträger für eine bessere Zukunft erweisen.
Jörg Armbruster berichtet für das ARD-Fernsehen schon seit vielen Jahren aus dem Nahen Osten; dennoch war auch er überrascht von der Wucht des Aufstandes, den er in Ägypten und Libyen hautnah miterleben konnte und der die alte Ordnung hinweggefegt hat. Er sprach mit Organisatoren des Aufstandes, mit ehemaligen politischen Gefangenen und mit Politikern, die vielleicht die Zukunft der Region mitbestimmen werden, und er beantwortet folgende Wie wird es nun weitergehen? Wie verhalten sich die alten politischen Kräfte, das Militär, die Reichen, die alten Politiker, die alle viel zu verlieren haben? Kommt nach dem bunten Frühling ein heißer Sommer? Kann der demokratische Aufbruch noch scheitern?
Im Frühjahr 2011 hat die islamische Jugend begonnen, die politische Ordnung vieler arabischer Länder auf den Kopf zu stellen. Tunesien, Ägypten, Libyen, Jemen, Syrien, Bahrain-die Probleme in diesen Ländern ähneln sich, es herrschen politische Unterdrückung, Korruption, Polizeifolter, Arbeits- und Perspektivlosigkeit der sehr jungen Bevölkerung. ARD-Korrespondent Jörg Armbruster zeigt, wie sich diese jungen Menschen nun als Hoffnungsträger für eine bessere Zukunft erweisen.
Jörg Armbruster berichtet für das ARD-Fernsehen schon seit vielen Jahren aus dem Nahen Osten; dennoch war auch er überrascht von der Wucht des Aufstandes, den er in Ägypten und Libyen hautnah miterleben konnte und der die alte Ordnung hinweggefegt hat. Er sprach mit Organisatoren des Aufstandes, mit ehemaligen politischen Gefangenen und mit Politikern, die vielleicht die Zukunft der Region mitbestimmen werden, und er beantwortet folgende Wie wird es nun weitergehen? Wie verhalten sich die alten politischen Kräfte, das Militär, die Reichen, die alten Politiker, die alle viel zu verlieren haben? Kommt nach dem bunten Frühling ein heißer Sommer? Kann der demokratische Aufbruch noch scheitern?
- GenresNonfiction
232 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 3, 2024
The Arab Spring emerged as I was entering my teens and now, as an adult connected to South-West Asia and North Africa even more than back then, I decided to refresh my memory. I will be returning to Tunisia later this year; the last time I was there was before the Arab Spring, so that was my main impetus to pick up the book.
I bought it second-hand and at the time of the purchase didn't realize that the reportage had been written as the events were still unfolding, rather than years later. That was a pleasant surprise. Armbruster provides enough historical and political background so that even a reader unfamiliar with intricacies of SWANA geopolitics would be able to grasp the socio-political situation of the time. The first few chapters go in-depth on Egypt and Tunisia (in this order, the opposite to the actual chronology), then the main focus turns to Libya, with other countries touched upon in between. The chapters describe as follows: Egypt (1-6, 8, 17), Tunisia (7), Yemen (9), Bahrain (10), Syria (11), Libya (12-16, though 15 and 16 focus on a couple of individuals rather than Libya at large). Israel also gets its own (well, sort of) chapter 19. There are three chapters which are general musings and analyses of democracy in the Arab world (18, 20, 21). Of course, the countries are not described in isolation and make guest appearances throughout the book - for example, there is only one chapter on Tunisia but it is heavily featured in chapters on Egypt, similarly Syria. Among those who didn't get their own chapter but were mentioned at times are: Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Morocco, Oman, Algeria and Palestinian Territories (with emphasis on Gaza).
From the get-go the reader gets inside scoop from the work of reporters and war correspondents - which was exciting for myself, who wanted to be a political journalist as a teenager. However, the story isn't simply the author's recounting of the events. He gives the "stage" to the people, be it activists, organizations, parties, or regular citizens of various backgrounds. Armbruster doesn't shy away from including people who disagree with his narrative/bias (on which later). What left me unsatisfied in this area, however, was the short and very ambiguous inclusion of unnamed Muslim Brotherhood members. The MB has been an important part of Egypt's political and societal scene for a long time (and remains so) and I feel like more could have been "squeezed" out of it. With how little insight the anonymous sources provided, not much would've changed in the book had these parts been omitted.
Much of the book, especially in the beginning, is driven by people who took part in the very first protests. They describe their motivations, modi operandi, brutality of the police and the army, and their ideas for the future - their sentiments echo throughout all of the described countries. This is the strongest feature of the book for me. Though the author shares his opinions here and there, it isn't until the chapters about Libya that he fully expresses his views. It didn't annoy me, most likely because I have very similar thoughts - both about the politics of the time and those of now. In short, Armbruster rips into Western governments (particularly the US, France, the UK and his home country Germany) for entertaining the eccentricities of Qaddafi (Gaddafi? Kaddafi? or maybe El-Gadhafi, per the man himself?), his brutal regime, and orchestrating terrorist attacks in other countries, as long as Libya's resources were up for grabs.
The chapter I found most puzzling was the one about Israel. Half of it is spent talking about relations between Israel and Egypt from 1970's up until the 2010's, especially as they pertain to their borders with the Gaza Strip, their respective problems with Hamas (and other military factions in Gaza), and the Sinai Peninsula. This part was actually informative and quite fascinating. The other half talks about relations between Israel and Lebanon, though this time it is one-sided and told from Lebanese lens. What irked me about it is what always irks me when Arab-oriented writers insert Israel into their work: ignoring the fact that the Arab-Israeli conflict(s) stems from issues predating Israel by centuries, rather than simply from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. All of this left little place to discuss protests led by Palestinians - which at the time were directed at Hamas and not Israel. The author concluded this part with a quote by Israeli historian Tom Segev, basically saying that while Arab countries are perhaps moving towards democratization, Israel is heading towards right-wing de-democratization - hardly a groundbreaking conclusion for anyone who has been observing Israeli politics since the Second Intifada. I would much rather read a chapter focusing on Palestinians, their realities and thoughts, instead of them being just briefly mentioned. As opposed to the other Arab civilians, they are not given an agency to tell their own stories as individual humans (this is, again, a recurring problem with literature about the Arab world whenever Israel is brought up). It is perhaps my biggest disappointment when it comes to this book; Palestinians already face suppression from multiple sources as it is and an opportunity to give them a platform - to talk about their specific struggles which rarely ever make headlines - was missed.
My main conclusion after reading the book was that the role of social media had changed in the past decade. What was once a tool of the regular people to spread the word about their situation, is now a weapon in the war of disinformation used by governments and regimes. Rest assured, global leaders paid attention to what the Arab Spring revolutionaries achieved with the help of the Internet, and have since used the very same Internet to plant their narratives in unsuspecting social media users' heads (this sounds more conspiracy theorist-ish than I intended but this is something I am sure of).
I bought it second-hand and at the time of the purchase didn't realize that the reportage had been written as the events were still unfolding, rather than years later. That was a pleasant surprise. Armbruster provides enough historical and political background so that even a reader unfamiliar with intricacies of SWANA geopolitics would be able to grasp the socio-political situation of the time. The first few chapters go in-depth on Egypt and Tunisia (in this order, the opposite to the actual chronology), then the main focus turns to Libya, with other countries touched upon in between. The chapters describe as follows: Egypt (1-6, 8, 17), Tunisia (7), Yemen (9), Bahrain (10), Syria (11), Libya (12-16, though 15 and 16 focus on a couple of individuals rather than Libya at large). Israel also gets its own (well, sort of) chapter 19. There are three chapters which are general musings and analyses of democracy in the Arab world (18, 20, 21). Of course, the countries are not described in isolation and make guest appearances throughout the book - for example, there is only one chapter on Tunisia but it is heavily featured in chapters on Egypt, similarly Syria. Among those who didn't get their own chapter but were mentioned at times are: Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Morocco, Oman, Algeria and Palestinian Territories (with emphasis on Gaza).
From the get-go the reader gets inside scoop from the work of reporters and war correspondents - which was exciting for myself, who wanted to be a political journalist as a teenager. However, the story isn't simply the author's recounting of the events. He gives the "stage" to the people, be it activists, organizations, parties, or regular citizens of various backgrounds. Armbruster doesn't shy away from including people who disagree with his narrative/bias (on which later). What left me unsatisfied in this area, however, was the short and very ambiguous inclusion of unnamed Muslim Brotherhood members. The MB has been an important part of Egypt's political and societal scene for a long time (and remains so) and I feel like more could have been "squeezed" out of it. With how little insight the anonymous sources provided, not much would've changed in the book had these parts been omitted.
Much of the book, especially in the beginning, is driven by people who took part in the very first protests. They describe their motivations, modi operandi, brutality of the police and the army, and their ideas for the future - their sentiments echo throughout all of the described countries. This is the strongest feature of the book for me. Though the author shares his opinions here and there, it isn't until the chapters about Libya that he fully expresses his views. It didn't annoy me, most likely because I have very similar thoughts - both about the politics of the time and those of now. In short, Armbruster rips into Western governments (particularly the US, France, the UK and his home country Germany) for entertaining the eccentricities of Qaddafi (Gaddafi? Kaddafi? or maybe El-Gadhafi, per the man himself?), his brutal regime, and orchestrating terrorist attacks in other countries, as long as Libya's resources were up for grabs.
The chapter I found most puzzling was the one about Israel. Half of it is spent talking about relations between Israel and Egypt from 1970's up until the 2010's, especially as they pertain to their borders with the Gaza Strip, their respective problems with Hamas (and other military factions in Gaza), and the Sinai Peninsula. This part was actually informative and quite fascinating. The other half talks about relations between Israel and Lebanon, though this time it is one-sided and told from Lebanese lens. What irked me about it is what always irks me when Arab-oriented writers insert Israel into their work: ignoring the fact that the Arab-Israeli conflict(s) stems from issues predating Israel by centuries, rather than simply from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. All of this left little place to discuss protests led by Palestinians - which at the time were directed at Hamas and not Israel. The author concluded this part with a quote by Israeli historian Tom Segev, basically saying that while Arab countries are perhaps moving towards democratization, Israel is heading towards right-wing de-democratization - hardly a groundbreaking conclusion for anyone who has been observing Israeli politics since the Second Intifada. I would much rather read a chapter focusing on Palestinians, their realities and thoughts, instead of them being just briefly mentioned. As opposed to the other Arab civilians, they are not given an agency to tell their own stories as individual humans (this is, again, a recurring problem with literature about the Arab world whenever Israel is brought up). It is perhaps my biggest disappointment when it comes to this book; Palestinians already face suppression from multiple sources as it is and an opportunity to give them a platform - to talk about their specific struggles which rarely ever make headlines - was missed.
My main conclusion after reading the book was that the role of social media had changed in the past decade. What was once a tool of the regular people to spread the word about their situation, is now a weapon in the war of disinformation used by governments and regimes. Rest assured, global leaders paid attention to what the Arab Spring revolutionaries achieved with the help of the Internet, and have since used the very same Internet to plant their narratives in unsuspecting social media users' heads (this sounds more conspiracy theorist-ish than I intended but this is something I am sure of).
April 24, 2023
This shit was freaking good. I’m impressed ✨
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews