Acemoglu and Robinson on Arab Spring Grievances

Summary

Acemoglu and Robinson trace the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings to poverty and denied political rights, and argue political and economic institutions, not geography or culture, explain why nations differ in prosperity.

What it argues

1. Arab Spring regime changesPolitics

   Tunisia's Ben Ali, in power since 1987, stepped down on 2011-01-14. Egypt's Mubarak, who ruled almost thirty years, was ousted on 2011-02-11. Regimes in Bahrain, Libya, Syria and Yemen were of unknown fate as the authors wrote. Two of the region's longest-ruling leaders fell within weeks of each other.

2. Demands for political rightsPolitics

   Tahrir Square protesters denounced repression and the absence of political rights, Acemoglu and Robinson write. Mohamed ElBaradei called repression and denial of peaceful change a 'ticking bomb' in Tunisia. Organiser Wael Khalil's first twelve demands were all for political change, not economic policy. Protesters framed their economic grievances as rooted in a lack of political rights.

3. Income gap with the USEconomics

   The average Egyptian earns about 12 percent of the average US income and lives ten fewer years, the authors write. Twenty percent of Egyptians live in dire poverty, though the gap is smaller than that between the US and countries like North Korea, Sierra Leone or Zimbabwe. Egypt's poverty, while severe, is moderate next to the world's poorest states.

4. Institutions, not geography, explain wealthEconomics

   Acemoglu and Robinson argue political and economic institutions, not geography, disease or culture, determine whether nations are rich or poor. Reviewers including Nobel laureates Arrow, Becker, Diamond, Spence and Solow, plus Fukuyama, Ferguson, Rodrik and Johnson, endorse this thesis. The book contrasts 'extractive' institutions that enrich elites with 'inclusive' ones that spread opportunity. A wide range of economists back the claim that manmade institutions, not environment, decide prosperity.

5. Critical junctures and feedback loopsEconomics

   The authors describe institutions changing at 'critical junctures' such as England's 1688 revolution and European colonialism. They say inclusive institutions create self-reinforcing 'virtuous circles,' while extractive ones lock in 'vicious circles' of poverty. Historical turning points, not fixed traits, set countries on divergent paths of wealth or poverty.

6. Protesters cite corruption and educationSociety

   Noha Hamed, an advertising worker, said Egyptians were 'suffering from corruption, oppression and bad education.' Mosaab El Shami, a pharmacy student, called for an elected government, universal freedoms and an end to corruption. Protesters spoke of unequal opportunity and the government's failure to deliver public services. Protesters themselves named corruption and inequality of opportunity as core grievances.

Open questions

• The fates of the regimes in Bahrain, Libya, Syria and Yemen are left unknown in the text as written.
• The authors' full chapter-by-chapter case for how institutions form and change is not given in full; the excerpt is cut off.