Has the Arab Spring Succeeded?

The Heat

The Arab Spring began in 2010 when a man in Tunisia burned himself to death in protest at his treatment by police. Since then, a wave of pro-democracy rebellions have erupted across the Middle East. However, the outcomes have not always been successful.

In Syria, hundreds of opposition fighters have abandoned their last stronghold in the city of Homs. The withdrawal of opposition fighters and their families comes after the Syrian government and rebels reached a ceasefire deal. This will mark the end of three years of resistance in Homs, which had once been dubbed the ‘capital of the revolution’ against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. To discuss the Arab Spring in the context of Syria, CCTV’s Anand Naidoo is joined by Bassam Abu Abdullah, Head of the Damascus Center for Strategic Studies in Syria; and Rafif Jouejati, Director of the Free-Syria Foundation.

The Arab Spring hasn’t been a rousing success in Egypt despite the removal from power of two presidents since the start of the revolution. Hosni Mubarak was ousted as president in early 2011 after nearly three decades in power. Then came the removal from office of the first democratically-elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. For an in-depth analysis of the revolution in Egypt, CCTV’s Anand Naidoo speaks to Hassan Mneimneh, Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund.

Hassan Mneimneh on Arab Spring-Egypt

The Arab Spring hasn't been a rousing success in Egypt despite the removal from power of two presidents since the start of the revolution. The first to go was Hosni Mubarak in early 2011 after nearly three decades in power. Then it was the first democratically-elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. For an in-depth analysis of the revolution in Egypt, CCTV's Anand Naidoo speaks to Hassan Mneimneh, Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund.

The revolutions in Tunisia and Morocco have had a far more successful outcome. But what made the revolution successful in these countries, but not in others? To explore these issues, CCTV’s Anand Naidoo interviews Benjamin Claude Brower, Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin; and Tarek Masoud, a political scientist specializing in the Middle East.