Executive Summary
The aim of the research was to answer the main research question: ‘What caused the Arab Spring’
In order to tackle this question; desk research, case studies and an interview with Mr Farrid
Benkaddour have been conducted. Farrid Benkaddour is a Moroccan sociologist, he started his career in Morocco after obtaining his baccalaureate in 1984. Since then he has been a teacher in Morocco, afterwards he went to the Netherlands to teach Dutch people about Moroccan culture. He currently works for Arabika, a company that specializes in legal assistance, translations, language trainings and intercultural communications. The desk research revealed the opinions of the Arab spring’s countries inhabitants. Inflation, unemployment and poor housing conditions prevailed as a direct consequence of insufficient dictatorial regimes. Freshly graduated youth was left jobless with no sign of improvement in the near future. People became more and more aware of the lack of political influence they had and started idealizing the western political democratic models. The interview and case studies showed there have been negative thoughts about the dictatorial regimes ever since their instalment. Protests have been seen throughout the history of the Arab world. The difference, however, between those protests and the Arab Spring is the modern age. Where earlier protests failed due to lack of support, the modern age tools such as (social-)media carried the Arab spring’s unfolding events throughout the world, reaching a lot of people and consequently fuelling protests. The future perspective for the countries who have overthrown their government might not be that bright. So far the protesters have succeeded in breaking down the dictatorial wall but it seems the fight for power will go on. Different groups will compete for leadership, as long as the whole society is not in agreement with the way the country is being governed, peace will not return to the countries who participated in the Arab Spring.

Introduction:
Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher, once argued that mankind used to live selfish lives. It was a war of all versus all, somewhere, ages ago people decided to collaborate and eventually formed societies, motivated by self-preservation. In order to form these societies, rules have to be made and a political structure has to be implemented.

But sometimes, the political organisation within a country, kingdom, empire or society is not working anymore, which causes people to express their discontent and possibly even revolt against the regime. There are multiple mutiny stories where the captain of a ship gets thrown overboard because his crew does not tolerate his way of ruling any longer.

Societies are, in a way, like a pirate ship, designed by revolutions, some societies started to rebel earlier than others but expressing ones dissatisfaction has always been there. It is within human nature. For instance, The Netherlands as it is today, is a product of the revolution that was led by Willem van Oranje. Contemporary France is a product of the French revolution and so on. However, rebellions and revolution have been happening since “the beginning of times” people seemed surprised by the current situation in the Maghreb and later on in the middle-east. Where different groups of people started demonstrating against their leaders and later on started a revolution to get rid of those leaders. This research report aims to find the answer to the following research question:

What were the causes of the Arab spring?

To get a balanced answer, different research methods will be used, desk research and an interview which will be the main tools to find an answer to the central question.
Because the subject is very vast and complex, several sub-questions have been made to make sure the answer to the central question is well funded.
Therefore the following questions will be answered by conducting a desk research and case studies.
-How did the leaders of the Arab world react on protests in their country?
-Have there been similar situations in the Arab world in the course of history?
-What is the future perspective of the prostesters ?
Eventually the answers to these questions in combination with the information that was gathered, will lead to a clear conclusion answering the research question.
Methods:
In order to gather information different methods of research have been used. The subject is rather complex and there are a lot of opinions and different versions of telling the facts out there. Think of Arab media in comparison with western media for example. The possibility of bias is taken into account.

The first method that was used to gather preliminary information is desk research. This method is used to find information on the subject, also it provided insight on historical events that were similar to the Arab spring. The information was gathered from different websites, to make sure the information was not biased.

The second method that was used is a case study. In order to get information on factors that led to previous uprisings in the Maghreb/Arab world, case studies were conducted. The authors of the sources used for the case studies are Allam Mai Nabil and Saad Eddine Ibrahim. This consisted of reading different files on related subjects, we used this to obtain information for the sub-questions. The case studies seemed like a good source because they are historically correct and helped establishing the context of the current situation in the Maghreb and Middle Eastern region.

Thirdly an interview was conducted.
It had been decided a qualitative interview was best suitable for the research, therefore a sociologist who has spent most of his life in the Maghreb region was asked to be interviewed, he answers to the name Farid Benkaddour and has been involved in several politically active organisations. This man is currently working as a mediator between governmental organisations and his clients in countries ranging from the Netherlands to Morocco and Iraq. The form of the interview had to be unstructured He seemed to have a lot of knowledge so it was decided to provide him topics and pose him general questions so he could elaborate on it. Unfortunately, there is a small language barrier as Mr Benkaddour is not a native Dutch speaker. Even though it took some extra effort, the interview turned out to be a success.

Results
The desk research provided information on whether there have been similar situations in the Maghreb/Middle Eastern region. It became clear that the region has a long history of battles between groups within a country over who had the most influential power. All the conflicts (with the exception of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1945) were about internal ethnic issues. The last known outbreak before the Arab Spring happened in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria revolted against the occupiers during their wars of Independence between 1950 en 1964. (Mr Farrid Benkaddour, 2013)
The next part of the desk research revealed the several factors which have contributed to the eruption of the Arab Spring. The Arab spring is not limited to one country, it has spread to several countries. It became clear there were similarities between the countries who have seen protests. One of the main indirect reasons can be gathered under the collective term: the quality of life. This because the Tunisians were extremely unhappy with their government because unemployment was high, 30 % of Tunisians aged 15-29 is unemployed(Borger. J. 2010) and there were no indications of any improvement of this problem. In Algeria people went protesting due to exponential inflation and also unemployment, the Algerian government announced that unemployment rates are at 10 %, independent organisations reported figures around 25%. (Reuters. 2011) The Libyans organised protests due to the poor housing quality conditions. (Weaver. M, Agencies. 2011) In addition to these problems, the division of wealth among the people caused a lot of bad blood as well. It seems that most of the wealth and properties are in the hands of a selected few. Another factor which was seen in these countries was the dissatisfaction of the people regarding the political influence they have.
The reactions of leaders of countries that saw protests: Ben Ali, leader of Tunisia fled the country and enjoyed protection of his allies after trying to get into several countries who refused him, he was welcomed by the country of Saudi Arabia. (Black.I, A.Chrisafis, 2011) Moammar Mohammed al-Qadhafi the leader of Libya got captured and was killed because he refused to resign.
Hosni Moebarak, who is diagnosed with serious health issues, did resign as leader of Egypt.( McGreal. C, Shenker. M. 2011)
When it comes to countries in the same region, which have similar regimes such as Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Iran, Morocco, Bahrain, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The inhabitants of these countries heard of the protests, they soon followed.

Farrid Benkaddour, who was interviewed for this research, mentioned that when he obtained his baccalaureate ( Bachelor’s degree) in 1984 he could not find a job in his profession. This went on for a few years. When asked what he thought caused the Arab Spring, he answered that the young people living in these countries were sick of the dictatorial regimes and wanted to live like people in the western world, in a democracy. Through modern media the people in these dictatorial countries saw alternative political models. And this has made them revolt against the regimes. What they did not realize, Mr Benkaddour proceeds, is that it is very hard to bring democracy in a country that is not used to it. He names Iraq with the Golf war as an example. The regimes in these countries have been there for a long time. He also stated that being against the regime is nothing new, people criticized the dictatorial regimes since long before he was even born. But people were afraid to do something about it, the ones who did, risked severe sanctions. The reason they never succeeded is rather simple according to Mr Benkaddour. Back then there were no media like we have now, no mobile phones, even land lines were scarce so the protests didn’t spread like they did in the Arab Spring. The sharing of information was limited, and protesting on your own is a lost cause. According to him, the protesters had no plan. It cannot even be called a revolution, because there is no alternative for the previous and condemned political model. He elaborates about Morocco, people protested in Morocco as well. But the current King of Morocco, Mohammed the 6th listened to the protesters and made some concessions, therefore the Arab Spring did not make it to Morocco. Eventually he said, it is easier to break down a dictatorial regime than to establish a democratic one.

Discussion
After completion of the desk research, case study and conducting the interview the data is analysed and interpreted. A conclusion can be made regarding the opinions of inhabitants on the regime. The desk research showed a large share of the people who were protesting were doing this because of, amongst other things, unemployment. The interview showed that this problem is nothing new. ( Reuters 2012) In 1984 the interviewee, and with him many others, encountered the exact same problem. In addition to that, a research on the history of protests in the Arab world made clear that people almost never liked the dictatorial regimes they lived under. Some brave people have made an effort out of changing the system. (Saad Eddin Ibrahim 1988) However the big difference between then and the Arab Spring is the modern age.
Due to new age tools such as the internet, (social-) media and other means of communication, the protests were no longer an empty scream. Half the world zoomed in on the unfolding situations in the Arab World. The story of Mohammed Bouazizi, the young graduate who set himself on fire became global news, consequently motivating thousands of people in the Arab world to revolt against their leaders.
From the point of view of the interviewee(F. Benkaddour ,personal interview, 2013 ), has also referred several times to the western countries, which are seen as the enemy by different groups, these groups are against the ideologies of the west. It is also very interesting to see that Mr Benkaddour, states that the Arab Spring started a long time before the happenings in 2010 namely the day when the U.S.A attacked Iraq for the first time. From his point of view the current situation is not really a revolution but just agitation that was not dealt with in an appropriate way by the leaders of every country, except the Moroccan king, which dealt with it differently. The uprising in Morocco didn’t last long because he made concessions. By meeting every group half way due answering a share of their demands he maintained peace in the region where re protests occurred.. The biggest problem for the leaders of the uprising countries was that they didn’t have any control over the way of communicating by the protesters, thanks to new media as Facebook and Twitter the citizens could organize themselves rapidly and vastly. The government couldn’t get their hands on the plans of the protesters let alone arrest the initiators, this made it a very uncomfortable position for the political power in those countries. When asked about the future perspective of the revolving countries, he answered very sceptical.
According to the interview (F. Benkaddour ,personal interview, 2013 ) the future might not be so bright for the countries who have overthrown their governments.
Because of the lack of ideology and leadership. This is supported by several news articles that provide about the situation in for example Egypt, where the government has resigned and the military power has taken over the leadership of Egypt. (Cecily Hillerary,2012)

Conclusion:
The dictatorial regimes in these countries have been there as long as this generation could remember. The inhabitants kept their peace and held their mouth shut for a long time. However, due to the rapid diminishing of their well fare by increase of taxes, costs of living and the deterioration of unemployment, unfair distribution of wealth.
In combination with poor housing conditions, no perspective on a job for graduates, no influence on politics and censorships of the media, more or less forced the people to take matters into their own hand and they started to protest to preserve their own well-being.
The reactions of leaders; violence against peace full protesters, corruption within the governments and refusal of political reformation fuelled the protests. The cries for change spread from city to city, from country to country like a wild fire. One countries successes, broadly covered by western media, caused more motivation for protesters in other countries, it is safe to say that the protests were highly contagious. All of this has led to change, change in the way people think on a massive scale. And in-directly lead to what is known now as the still on-going ; Arab Spring. The event that directly lead to protests was the action of one man, Mohamed Bouazizi who lit himself on fire after becoming horribly desperate. He was trying to make some money by selling fruit and vegetables from a stall, since he could not get a job even though he had a diploma. The police seized his stall because he did not have a permit. As a desperate cry for attention for his situation and to motivate others, he eventually lit himself on fire.
The fact that the different ethnic groups finally grew tired of being seen as second range citizens and have been revolving against regimes since day one is also one of the factors that contributed to the dissatisfaction of the inhabitants. Though be it for a small share.
It is difficult to say whether the future will be bright for the countries who revolted against their regimes, they got rid of the leaders they had and opened, in that way, a new chapter where different groups will fight for the power. It is them who will shape the country in their ideals.
This can result in two ways; Either the citizens of the Maghreb/Middle Eastern countries get tired of continuous chaos and battles for power and become so agitated with the situation that they allow another insufficient political model to be established.

Or that the countries are damned to keep on fighting until the society is changed in such a way that everybody is happy want. According to the interviewee, this can only happen if the group who leads the revolution has a clear agenda to replace the old government.
Now the dictatorial wall is down, it is up to the society to establish a new way of governing and policy-making that everybody can live with. However this might be harder than initially thought, because of the deeply rooted traditional and dictatorial way of governing.

Annotated bibliography

Unknown, . ( N d). A HISTORY of CONFLICT. BBC News, p. 1. Retrieved on November 12,2012 from BBC news website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/v3_ip_timeline/html/ This chart has been made by someone of BBC news. Unfortunately the name of the author is not mentioned. The chart contains information on the history of conflicts in the Arab world, it mainly focusses on the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, it also highlights some important events in the recent history of the Middle-East. It is hard to tell whether the source is biased, I think not because the BBC wouldn’t gain anything from altering the description of events that happened in the past.

Black.I, A.Chrisafis, ( 2011, January, 15) Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced to flee Tunisia as protesters claim victory. Retrieved on 17, December, 2012. From the website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/14/tunisian-president-flees-country-protests This article is written and published by The guardian, A in London Headquartered, politically independent news agency. The article describes that Ben Ali fled his country, where he tried to go, where he ended up and who took over his tasks in Tunisia. I do think it is un-biased since this western based news agency is well known for providing the public with factual news.

Black. I, J. Shenker. (2011, January, 30). Egypt protests: change is coming, says Mohammed ElBaradei. Retrieved on 27, December, 2012. From the website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/30/egypt-protests-mohammed-elbaradei

In this article the leader of the Egyptian opposition party does some predictions about the future of the leaders and his colleagues. It is written by I. Black and J. Shenker and published by the Guardian. The article has more chance of being biased than other once since it has a lot of someone else his words in it. Though I trust the publisher and do not expect it to be biased and/or manipulated.
Borger. J. (2010, December, 29). Tunisian president vows to punish rioters after worst unrest in a decade. Retrieved on 24, December, 2010. From the website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/29/tunisian-president-vows-punish-rioters

This article tells the story of how Ben Ali reacted on the protests. He promises to break the whole protest down. It is published by the Guardian, I do believe it is trustworthy because speeches of Ben Ali saying the same things have been shown on international television.

Byman, D.L(Summer 2011).Israel’s Pessimistic View of the Arab Spring .The Washington Quarterly. Retrieved on January 3 from the Brookings website: http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2011/06/israel-arab-spring-byman This article is published by the Washington quarterly. It describes the feelings of Israelis about the protests, it sketches a strong distinction between their reactions, and the ones of Americans. I find it hard to judge whether or not it is biased. I have to admit some alarm bells went off when I noticed it is an American writer writing about the opinions of Israelis. Though it sounded logical and I decided to use it.

Byrne, E. ( 2012 January 13).Ben Ali’s family and friends. The Guardian.. Retrieved on 14 December 2012 from the The Guardian website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/13/ben-ali-family-friends-assets This article gives information about Ben Ali’s family and friends. Since he was condemned for always supporting the family of his second wife rather than taking care of his own business. I do trust the information found in the article because I have already stated I trust the guardian as a news agency.

Blight. G, Pulham. S, Torpey. P. (2012, January, 5). Arab spring: an interactive timeline of Middle East protests. Retrieved on November, 26, 2012. From the website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline This is an interactive timeline of the Arab Spring, it has proven to be very handy. It is made by the guardian and contains a lot of information. Again, I think it is trustworthy.

Haynes, J. (2012,November, 19 ). Political Science. Tracing connections between comparative politics and globalization. Retrieved on November 24 , 2012, from the university of Alberta website: http://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/courses/PoliticalScience/670A1/documents/HaynesCon nectionCompPoliticsGlobalisation.pdf

This paper is made in Canada by Jeff Haynes a professor at the Alberta University.
In this paper he explains the connections between politics and globalization giving a good overview of how times are changed. I think this is a trustworthy source because it is used and discussed by students of the University of Alberta in Canada.

Ibrahim, S.E. (N d). Assyrian International News Agency. Ethnic conflict and state-building in. Retrieved on Decembre 15, 2012, from the website: http://www.aina.org/articles/ecasbitaw.pdf
This paper was made by Saad Eddin Ibrahim, he is a professor in Political Sociology at the University of Cairo and Chairman of the Board of theIbn Khaldoun Centre for Development. Studies, this paper was published for Unesco and because of this I think it is a trust worthy source.

International Crisis Group (2003, June 10). Algeria: Unrest and Impasse in Kabylia.
Retrieved on November 14,2012 from the website: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/North%20Africa/Algeria/Algeria%20Unrest%20and%20Impasse%20in%20Kabylia.pdf This report gives information about the unrest in Algeria and is written by a well-known group of people. In my opinion this source is trustworthy since it is a scientific report published by an established publisher.

Jones. S , Agencies. ( 2011, January, 17). Man sets himself on fire near Egyptian parliament.
Retrieved on 26, December, 2012. From the website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/17/man-sets-himself-on-fire-egypt-protest
This article tells the story of the first Egyptian who lit himself on fire in a desperate cry for attention. I trust the source, since it is the Guardian.

Shenker. J, Khalili. M ( 2011, February, 4). Cairo's biggest protest yet demands Mubarak's immediate departure. Retrieved on 27, December, 2012. From the website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/day-of-departure-hosni-mubarak
This article contains information about the demands and actions of the masses of people protesting against Mubarak in Egypt. I do trust the source and do not think the info is biased since I have personally seen these demands on my own television.

Leyne, J.( 2011, November 13). Arab revolution at the Arab League. BBC News. Retrieved on November 14,2012 from the BBC news website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15714771
This article explains the reactions of the leaders of the Arab world on the protests. It sheds light on their opinion, it turned out they are rather neutral. I do not think it is a biased article since I trust the BBC, a well-known established independent news agency.

The New York Times, . (1919, 25). 800 natives dead in Egypt’s rising: 1600 wounded. Retrieved on November 12, 2012, from The New York Times website: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archivefree/pdf?res=F10B17F83D5C147A93C7AB17 8CD85 F4D8185F9
This article tells the story of the people that fell victim to the protests in Egypt. It is published by the New York Times. I think this article tends to be a little biased since the exaggerate title and the perfectly round numbers of victims. Therefore I do not trust the New York Times completely, however the information was use full when compared to other sources.

Associated Press, (2011, January, 9) Tunisia: 11 die in new clashes after weeks of unrest.
Retrieved on 20, December, 2012. From the website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/09/tunisia-clashes-weeks-unrest
This article gives information about casualties of the first protests in Tunisia, the epicenter of the Arab Spring. I do not think it is biased because the Guardian published it.

Ramzi, W.(2011 December 13).Medelci defends Algeria stance on ‘Arab Spring’.Magharebia .Retrieved on January 4 from the Magharebia website: http://magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/12/13/feature-01 This article explains how Algeria’s chief diplomat reacted on his countries response on the protest in Algeria. The source could be biased but I did not notice it at all so I decided to use it.
Reuters. (2011, January, 7). Algerian riots resume over food prices. Retrieved on 17, December, 2012. From the website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/07/algeria-riots-food-prices This article tells the story about the riots in Algeria, when it just resumed after the government promised to do something about the prices. Again, I trust the source because the guardian published it.

Schulze.R.(1995/2000). A Modern History of the Islamic World .London. IB Tauris. Retrieved on November 12,2012 from the website: http://www.google.nl/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ODfRbCkr9TAC&oi=fnd&pg=PR10&dq=hauran+rebellion+1909&ots=UnED07aNAU&sig=Lvms9i2BXXPzFwn7OhsN7i9WXp0&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=killed&f=false This is a very vast report on the history of the Islamic world ( including the countries where the Arab spring is) and we used it to research information about protests in the Arab world in recent history. I do trust the source, it is a published book were a lot of people worked on.

Seddi .Y. (2012,January 21). Arab League under Arab Spring fire. AhramOnline. Retrieved on November 12, 2012 from the AhramOnline website: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/32282/World/Region/Arab-League-under-Arab-Spring-fire-.aspx In this article the Arab league gets criticized about their reaction on the events of the Arab Spring. AhramOnline is an Egyptian news agency, it has some risk of being biased since Egypt is a country which has felt the consequences of the Arab spring.

McGreal. C, Shenker. M (2011, February, 11). Hosni Mubarak resigns – and Egypt celebrates a new dawn. Retrieved on 28, December, 2012. From the website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/11/hosni-mubarak-resigns-egypt-cairo
This article describes the events that took place after the protesters in Egypt got what they asked for; Mubarak resigned. I do trust the source since it is the guardian, and I do not think it is biased.

The New York Times. (2012 December 10). Mohammed VI. The New York Times. Retrieved on January 3 ,2012 from The New York times website: http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/m/mohammed_vi/index. html
This is an article written and published by the New York times, it gives a description of the current king of Morocco. And the actions he did or did not conduct during his rule. The sources doesn’t seem biased it seems to provide mainly factual information.

Reuters. (2010, December 19). Witnesses report rioting in Tunisian town. Retrieved on December, 20, 2012. From the website: http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/12/19/ozatp-tunisia-riot- idAFJOE6BI06U20101219
This article contains information about the very first stages of the Arab spring in Tunisia, it has testimonies of Tunisians who allegedly witnessed the first protests. I researched Reuters and I do think they are trustworthy.

Weaver. M, Agencies. (2011, January, 16). Muammar Gaddafi condemns Tunisia uprising.
Retrieved on 20, December, 2012. From the website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/16/muammar-gaddafi-condemns-tunisia- uprising
In this article Muammar Ghaddafi gives his opinion on the events in the neighboring country Tunisia, he advices them to take a look at the Libyan political model. I trust the source , like I said before.