If this were the case, how does the term Arab Spring apply to the diversity of events in the Arab world? The success of the pro-democracy movements in Tunisia and Egypt would disqualify these two countries from being part of the Arab Spring, unless one referred to the very beginning of the revolutions in these two countries. In Syria and Yemen, assuming that democratic reforms were foremost among the demands, it would seem that the Arab Spring there is still under way. In Libya, only civil war seems to be raging, much to the consternation of the western powers whose military intervention on the side of the rebels should have, but has not, settled the issue once and for all. Arab Spring in Libya? Definitely not.
The use of the term spring is also designed to send a political message about the values of the West, with which it is infused. But as often happens in international relations, its use is not governed by uniform and consistent standards. For instance, the popular movement that toppled the Shah of Iran in 1979 did not receive the blessings of Washington, and therefore no one in the Carter or Reagan administrations, nor in the influential media, was in the mood to refer to the spring of Tehran. Similarly Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos was driven out of the Philippines by a popular movement demanding democratic reforms. But Marcos, like the Shah before him, was a friend of Washington. Therefore there was no Manila Spring.
Finally, there is the special case of the Moroccan King Mohammad VI who distinguished himself from the rest of the Arab leaders with two actions unprecedented in the modern history of Arab dictatorship. First, he established some six years ago a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to look into the gross and sustained human rights violations during the oppressive reign of his father King Hassan II.
Secondly, last June, King Mohammad VI, introduced important constitutional changes that divested power from the king and vested it in the prime minister — an elected parliamentarian from the party with a majority in parliament. If these and other changes were implemented without delay or equivocation, King Mohammad would have single-handedly transformed his monarchy from an absolute one to a constitutional one. And in the process, Morocco may just give the term Arab Spring a new meaning.
Adel Safty is Distinguished Professor Adjunct at the Siberian Academy of Public Administration, Russia. His new book, Might Over Right, is endorsed by Noam Chomsky, and published in England by Garnet, 2009.
