The Middle East Uprising (The Arab Spring): Prospects and Challenges

The recent uprising in the Middle East astonished the entire world when volcano of human patience erupted in the strategically most important region of the World – the Middle East. It is also known as the Middle East uprising. Taking start from Tunisia, one of the most developed oil producing country of the region, this wave of change took the neighboring countries into its folds. Some dictators bowed before it while others lost lives. Several social, economic and political factors were responsible for this uprising. But media especially the internet was the vehicle to bring the Arab youth closer to each other and spread awareness among them. It is also an irrefutable fact that still the Arabs have to go a long way to get their most basic right – right of self-determination. Even now, there are sheikhdoms, monarchies and worst type of dictatorships that are the main stumbling-blocks in the process of democratization of the Middle East. This paper will take into account all the factors that contributed to bring about this change in the region. It will explore the internal and external dynamics of this uprising and its impacts upon the future political, economic and social scenario of the region and the world. It will highlight the fact that how relevant is the political Islam to these revolutionary movements. The role of Islamist parties in the future setup will be brought to the forth. The impacts of this new trend upon the global politics will also be discussed.