Tunisia ousted a dictator seventeen days ago, and its people are struggling toward democracy. The median age of the people of Tunisia is 29.
Egypt has seen millions of people take to the streets this morning, and appears to be on the verge of overthrowing its unelected President. The median age of the people of Egypt is 29.
Palestinian officials announced today that they will be holding their first municipal elections in five years “as soon as possible.” The median age of the people of the West Bank is 20, and the median age of the people of Gaza is 17.
The government of Yemen, facing widespread popular protests, has just announced the suspension of university tuition and the creation of a new jobs program for recent university graduates. The median age of the people of Yemen is 18.
The king of Jordan has just dissolved that nation’s government and appointed a new prime minister — supposedly tasked with implementing reforms. The median age of the people of Jordan is 21.
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February 1, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Michael Dunn
It is true they have young populations and their uprisings are being led by youth. But it is important to recognize that most poor nations have high percentages of youth, in part because of high birth rates and in part because of low life expectancies, both of which are tied to poverty. It is not surprising that the youth would take the lead in movements centered in youthful populations.
Also, it is not clear what will happen in these uprisings. Old dictators may be replaced by new ones. Some democratic freedoms may be given. Increased government assaults may even crush the movements, as happened in China. However, even if true democratic reforms are implemented, there is no guarantee (and not even a high likelihood) that there will be significant economic changes. (Consider the U.S. which has considerable political freedom compared with the Arab nations and still has greater inequity). If these countries continue to have terrible poverty and inequity, there will continue to be suffering and simmering discontent.
Lastly, even with democracy and economic reforms, most of these countries will remain subservient to the U.S. and the west, making political, social and economic decisions that benefit the west, and their local oligarchs. The U.S. will do everything in its power to ensure this. It will be incredibly difficult for the movements in these countries to challenge this. If they don’t, they are unlikely to have much of an improvement once the current regimes have fled.