Political and Socio-Economic Roots of Uprisings in the Arab World

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to determine the political and socio-economic roots of the Arab spring and define its consequences. The article demonstrates similar and distinct features of revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. Particular attention is paid to the transformational consequences in this region. The study results show that the Arab Spring has not brought optimistic changes but worsened socio-economic problems. The Arab Spring uprisings have led to riots, civil wars, social militarisation, the revival of terrorist organisations that affected the economy. The phenomenon of the Arab spring has appeared because of mass discontents with the ruling regimes. This phenomenon is associated with a wave of protests in MENA that have led to a transformation of political, social, inter-regional, economic and financial systems of the region. Revolutions and civil wars have forced migrations to Europe. In turn, this has destabilised the European labour market and drawn the attention of governments to the growing Islamisation of the cultural sphere. The study is interdisciplinary and assesses change of political regimes in Arabic societies.