State-society relationship in West Asian and North African countries After the developments in the Arab region in 2011

Zarean, Ahmad; Saeedirad, Arash

doi:10.22034/FASIW.2024.414353.1284

State-society relationship in West Asian and North African countries After the developments in the Arab region in 2011

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Ahmad Zarean ¹

Arash Saeedirad ²

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Regional Studies, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran

² Master's student in Regional Studies, Faculty of Political Science and International Relations, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/FASIW.2024.414353.1284

Abstract

The developments in the Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa, which began in 2010 and reached its peak in 2011 and became known as the Arab Spring or Islamic Awakening, have attracted the attention of most researchers and experts in political issues regarding the causes, contexts, nature, and outcome. These developments have attracted attention. Preliminary investigations show that these developments were caused by the deep dissatisfaction of the people of the Arab countries in the region towards the inefficiency, corruption and systematic and institutionalized injustice in the structural system and agency of their respective governments.
The main goal of these protests, which started due to the chronic inefficiency and systematic and institutionalized corruption in the Arab governments, was to change the nature and shape of the relationship between the society and the state in such a way that social power can have a decisive effect on social power, not a situation in which power The political system determined the entire relationship of the social system. These protests faced the reaction of Arab governments and led to the overthrow of political systems in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen. But in Syria, Jordan, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, due to the successful adoption and implementation of policies and strategies to manage and contain the crisis, popular protests did not lead to the fall of the government in these countries.
Since these crises in this region will affect the security of other actors in the region, it is necessary to address this issue, therefore, in this article, we set our goal to know the current relations between the society and the government in the countries of West Asia and North Africa and to Looking for an answer to this question: "What effect did the social unrest and popular protests of 2010 and 2011 have on the relations between the government and society in the Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa?" This article has used the descriptive-analytical method to answer the research question and to collect data from library and online sources. In this article, social contract theory is used as a theoretical framework. It should be noted that the scope of the research is limited to the countries of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in North Africa and Yemen, Jordan, Libya, Syria and Saudi Arabia in West Asia.
Street protests have become the main way for people to achieve their demands and fight against corruption, injustice and inefficiency in the region of West Asia and North Africa. In the last decade, political-social dissatisfaction and demands for justice have been the driving force of many protest movements in the region of West Asia and North Africa. If we consider the three factors of corruption, inefficiency and injustice as the causes of protests in the region of West Asia and North Africa, considering the existence of these three factors in all the studied countries and even the deterioration of the situation of these factors, it should be said that these factors, The remaining factors of popular protests are also considered and the roots and grounds of protest still exist.
In the countries under review, the unemployment rate is high, especially among young people. Meanwhile, the young population in these countries (except Lebanon) is increasing. The population explosion will exacerbate the problem of youth unemployment. Meanwhile, the governments under review have not yet been able to create adequate and adequate job opportunities for young people or improve living conditions for large sections of the population. In addition, public infrastructure, health care, medical, educational and transportation services are not in good condition in these countries. Therefore, the increase in the rate of poverty, unemployment and the spread of inequalities, the feeling of marginalization, injustice and hopelessness are deeply rooted among the people of the countries under review. Widespread corruption and more importantly, the emergence of the perception and feeling of the existence of widespread corruption in the people has led to the increasing mistrust of the society towards the government and government institutions and the emergence of widespread or scattered protests.
While social unrest in many societies can lead to the modification or renewal of the social contract, the unrest in West Asia and North Africa did not lead to changes in the relationship between society and the state. The studied governments prevented the conclusion of a social contract between the government and society by suppressing protests or creating relative prosperity or a combination of the two. In some countries such as Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, governments tried to prevent structural changes by sacrificing agents and changing them in a targeted and controlled manner. In countries such as Tunisia and Egypt, although the bureaucratic system collapsed through nationwide popular protests, the structures remained intact and caused the return of bureaucrats loyal to the previous order. The governments of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, by adopting the twin policy of repression and creating relative prosperity, prevented the change of structures and agents. In Libya and Yemen, although the structures and agents changed in tandem, due to foreign intervention and internal divisions, a new social contract that would lead to the establishment of an inclusive government was not practically concluded. In Syria, after suppressing protests in its early days, the government promised to reform the existing social contract and changed the country's constitution. But extensive foreign intervention and the presence of takfiri extremists from all over the world failed the reform process.
Considering that, on the one hand, due to social protests in the eight studied countries, a new social contract has not been formed between the society and the government, and on the other hand, there are still structural and operational problems in these countries, such as corruption, inefficiency, injustice, etc. It is predicted that popular protests will rise again in the studied countries in the future. In fact, the causes of protests and unrest that ignited the studied countries in 2010 and 2011 are still there, and these countries are susceptible to a new round of popular protests.

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