Abstract
When Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian graduate who was forced to sell fruit illegally because he couldn’t find a job, was mistreated by the police and the municipality refused to hear his complaint, no one could have predicted the consequences his suicide would have.1 Yet, by 2011, the Tunisian uprising had triggered similar protests and demonstrations in Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Yemen, and Syria. Consequently, as instability, unrest, and conflict have spread across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the months and years that followed, the necessity for the international community to respond to and coordinate its policies has become unavoidable.
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Notes
BBC News, “Tunisia Suicide Protestor Mohammed Bouzizi Dies,” January 5, 2011, available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12120228, accessed May 28, 2014.
United Nations Security Council, “Security Council Approves ‘No-Fly Zone’ over Libya, Authorizing ‘All Necessary Measures’ to Protect Civilians, by Vote of 10 in Favour with 5 Abstentions,” March 17, 2011, available at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm, accessed May 11, 2014.
NATO, “NATO and Libya: Operation Unified Protector,” available at http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_71652.htm,accessed May 11, 2014.
Human Rights Watch, “NATO: Investigate Civilian Deaths in Libya,” May 14, 2012, available at http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/14/nato-investigate-civilian-deaths-libya, accessed May 11, 2014.
Barry Malone, “Gaddafi Killed in Hometown, Libya Eyes Future,” Reuters, October 20, 2011, available at http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/us-libya-idUSTRE79F1FK20111020, accessed May 11, 2014.
Amnesty International, “UN: Russian and Chinese Vetoes of Syria ICC Resolution ‘Callous,’” May 22, 2014, available at http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/un-russian-chinese-vetoes-syria-icc-resolution-callous-2014–05–22, accessed May 28, 2014.
Aryn Baker, “U.N. Security Council Gets Serious on Syria Aid to Limited Effect,” Time, May 1, 2014, available at http://time.com/82532/u-n-security-council-takes-on-syria/, accessed May 28, 2014.
Karen DeYoung, “U.N. Security Council Agrees on Resolution Urging Syria to Halt Attacks, Allow Aid Access,” The Washington Post, February 22, 2014, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/un-security-council-agrees-on-resolution-urging-syria-to-halt-attacks-allow-aid-access/2014/02/22/158384be-9be4–11e3-ad71-e03637a299c0_story.html, accessed May 11, 2014.
UN Security Council, “Security Council Fails to Adopt Draft Resolution Condemning Syria’s Crackdown on Anti-Government Protestors, Owing to Veto by Russian Federation, China,” October 4, 2011, available at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10403.doc.htm, accessed May 28, 2014.
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© 2014 Robert Mason
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Mason, R. (2014). Introduction. In: Mason, R. (eds) The International Politics of the Arab Spring. The Modern Muslim World. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137481726_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137481726_1
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