AJCS Seminar Discusses the Cost of Thwarting Arab Spring Revolutions

On 20 February 2018, Al Jazeera Centre for Studies (AJCS) hosted a seminar in cooperation with the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM) and Al Jazeera Mubasher entitled, "The Arab Spring Counter-Revolutions: Their Reality and Prospects".
13 March 2018
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From left to right: Salem Almahroukey (moderator), Ayman Nour, Ammar Kahaf, Ismail Rashad and ?zden Zeynep Oktav

On 20 February 2018, Al Jazeera Centre for Studies (AJCS) hosted a seminar in cooperation with the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM) and Al Jazeera Mubasher entitled, "The Arab Spring Counter-Revolutions: Their Reality and Prospects". The seminar confirmed that despite the obstacles the Arab revolutions face, there is still a resurgence. According to the speakers, none of the people's demands – especially for better living conditions, the end of injustice and dictatorship and the restoration of dignity – has been met.

The participating researchers and academics attributed the failure of the Arab revolutions to a number of factors, including the differences among the revolutionaries, growing regional and tribal tendencies and regional and international intervention. They pointed out that the cost incurred by the stumbling revolutions was terribly high at the political, economic and social levels. Hundreds of people lost their lives and millions were displaced. Moreover, some Arab Spring countries lost their national sovereignty and became hubs for “terrorist” and extremist groups.