DOI: 10.5176/2382-5650_CCS18.103
Authors: Ahmed H. Ibrahim
Abstract:
The Arab Spring, a revolutionary movement for democracy that swept across the Arab Middle East in 2010, has contributed to the downfall of several oppressive authoritarian regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. The movement represented several uprisings that placed the United States in a precarious position. While the uprisings have shaken U.S. policy to the core, they also presented a historic opportunity for American policymakers to create a new and comprehensive policy that is compatible with the much-coveted principles of democracy, freedom and justice in a region that has historically been unable to grasp such principles. This paper argues that the American administration under President Barak Obama squandered this opportunity by pursuing an incoherent and inconsistent policy. This policy revealed Obama's support of the uprising calls for political reforms that aligned with American liberal values. However, the policy also reflected a commitment to ensure security and stability by maintaining autocratic regimes the protesters hoped to overthrow. This paper demonstrates that the policy lacked consistency and clarity as it shifted from one uprising to another that eventually led to a diminished American influence in the Arab World
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