On December 17, 2010, after experiencing police harassment, Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire in front of the governor’s office. His self-immolation was a response to the humiliation he faced, triggering a pro-democracy protest movement in both the Middle East and North Africa called the Arab Spring. Now, almost eleven years later, how has this event changed the Arab world in terms of politics and business?
The Arab Spring toppled four dictatorships in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen. Of these countries, only one can say it’s better off in 2021 than it was in 2011. After a brief dalliance with democracy, Egypt is now ruled by Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, a dictator who, if anything, is even harsher than Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s dictator ten years ago. Both Syria and Yemen became theaters for civil wars, attracting plenty of foreign influence. Thus, only Tunisia has made actual progress over the years. It now has a shaky and imperfect democratic system, but a democratic system, nonetheless. According to The Economist’s 2019 Democracy Index, where the newspaper ranked Middle East nations on how democratic they were out of ten, only Tunisia (6.72) and Morocco (5.10) ranked above five. Interestingly enough, there was no correlation to wealth. The two lowest ratings were given to war-torn and impoverished Syria (1.43) and oil-rich Saudi Arabia (1.93).
On the other hand, one major reason why Bouazizi’s actions resonated so strongly was because so many other Arabs had suffered from the ills of graft and bribery as well. As a business owner, you don’t want to spend countless dollars in bribes just to get your wares into a market. Should you forget trying to do business in the Middle East, then? Luckily, while some countries have not made any strides towards creating a more responsible government, they have become fairer places for business. In fact, oil-rich Gulf states like the UAE and Saudi Arabia have made efforts to welcome foreign investments, increase growth opportunities, and boost innovation.
The Arab world is constantly changing. Indeed, there were mass protests in 2019 that were just as impactful, leading to the fall of four governments. It’s scary, but the Arab world is rich in culture, population, and in some areas, money. It will thus always be an attractive place to the business industry.
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