http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/07/13686562-the-arab-spring-is-dead-and-syria-is-writing-its-obituary?lite
"Well, Syria is likely to become an even bigger battleground for a
proxy war between Hezbollah, Sunni rebels, government troops, Iran and
al-Qaida. And once Syria collapses – or even before – Lebanon could
ignite as well.
My Iraqi friend was right. The Arab Spring no longer exists. "
This is a really pessimistic piece saying basically that wars will consume any peaceful protests, so just give up, all you people who think you can change your government.
Yet, peaceful protesters DID change their governments. So I'm not quite sure why the author insists that we need only think about war now. This seems amazingly pessimistic after what happened in Egypt, Tunisia, and elsewhere. Just give up on collective action that kicked out a dictator and brought the first elections EVER to Egypt? I don't think so. I'm more optimistic than that.
Internet Collective Action is people organizing in a nonhierarchical manner to accomplish a particular goal. The reward is in the doing, and how much or how little anyone participates is completely voluntary, depending on their abilities and commitment to the goal. By this process amazing things can be accomplished. ICA will grow so long as the Internet is free. http://www.lisamcpherson.org/pc.htm is an example of ICA.
1 comment:
No government or regime has changed so far in the Arab world and as a result of the Arab Spring, aside from that of Gadaffis (notably as a result of violence and external intervention). The regimes of Ben Ali and Mubarak remain intact despite supposed democratic advances. While I agree with you that peaceful protest remains the best avenue for change, it's results in these uprisings are, so far, some what limited.
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