As 2011 gave way to 2012, the year of ‘uncertainty' and the unfinished revolutions, and half-accomplished dreams, it is time to take stock and take a look one last time at 2011. What a year it was! How could we forget that epic year, even if some of us try to? How can we remember 2011?
In 2011 we topped seven billion people, became more connected, more informed. In 2011, Arab and non-Arab dictators (like Kim Jong-il), and iconic figures who have done more bad than good, like Osama Bin Laden and others, were all losers. Many of them even lost their lives.
No doubt the so-called Arab Spring dominated the year's headlines as Arabs finally caught up with the democratic wave after having missed, according to Samuel Huntington, the previous three waves. So, 2011 was the year of Arab revolutionary change. Time magazine confirmed this by choosing "The Protester" as the Person of the Year for 2011. Mohammad Bu Azizi, the young Tunisian vendor who set himself on fire to protest against his humiliation, sparked the revolutionary movements across many Arab countries and became a household name. The mayor of Paris named a park after him.
Tawakul Karman, the young Yemeni activist won the Nobel Peace Prize — a first for an Arab woman — and also became the youngest person to win this prestigious award. While the Arab Spring dominated the scene, the euro faltered, Greece faced bankruptcy, Europeans reconsidered their commitment to the common currency. The leaders and the people of the GCC revisited their drive towards a common currency. On top of all this, 2011 will also be remembered as the year of natural disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis and climate change as well.
Enchanting spring
It was a year that will be remembered for its achievements and revolutions. Although none of them came to complete fruition, the peaceful revolutions no doubt sparked something huge that will not go away soon, because these changes jolted, empowered and emboldened the masses.
2011 was no doubt the year of the people. By the same token, it was a bad year for tyrants and thugs. And the state and non-state actors, who cheered for and took the side of the beleaguered regimes against the people, also ended up as losers.
Wherever we looked in 2011, we were awed and enchanted by the Arab Spring — which would have been seen as a misnomer or an oxymoron at the beginning of 2011. Who would have thought that in 2011 the Arab masses in five republics would revolt, toppling some of the entrenched despots who had led them to nowhere and robbed them of their hopes, dreams, aspirations and dignity? Who would have thought that taunting the Arabs and ridiculing them for years for their "freedom deficit" and "exceptionalism" would finally stop?
On top of that, who would have thought that Tunisian president Zine Al Abidine Bin Ali would be in self-imposed exile, former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak would be seen on a stretcher humiliated before his own people and be in the defendant's cage on trial, for the whole world to see? Who could forget how the infamous "dean" of Arab leaders, Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, was dragged, humiliated and killed after four decades in power?
And what about the beleaguered Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who sustained burns in an attack, and is still manoeuvring to hold on to power? Who would have thought that Syrian strongman Bashar Al Assad, who is butchering his own people and stalling and dodging in a deadly game of survival and brinkmanship, would be teetering on the brink of oblivion by the end of 2011?
Undoubtedly, 2011 was the year of the Arabs. What is special is that Arabs, who hardly inspired with their drab politics, endless bickering, infighting, and dysfunctional politics and institutions, found themselves inspiring not only themselves but also Americans, Russians and even the Chinese. There were Arab Spring-like revolts, such as the Occupy Wall Street movement. In Russia, people voiced their anger with the Kremlin in unprecedented fashion, standing up for their rights against corrupt politics and rigged elections.
From what we have witnessed and what is unfolding before us today, it does not seem the tide of the Arab Spring will recede any time soon, Yet, uncertainty abounds in 2012. There is fear of unintended consequences which could derail the Arab Spring. There are fears about the euro's collapse and the end of the Eurozone. But the real fear is the possible retrenchment of the US, which seems to have decided, as part of its new military doctrine, to lead from behind. As the US pulls out of Iraq and draws down its forces in Afghanistan, the real question is how to respond to future conflicts. With its defence cuts, the main challenge for the US in the coming years is how does it expect to do more with less? What will be the results of the US presidential election? Stay tuned for all the exciting events of 2012, the year of uncertainty!
Professor Abdullah Al Shayji is the Chairman of the Political Science Department, Kuwait University. You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/docshayji.
