The Hopeful Arab Spring Turns Into A Roiling Arab Summer
Two years ago, the Arab Spring was a fountain of hope. Autocratic leaders whose rule was measured in decades were suddenly ousted, raising the possibility of political, economic and social change in a region that was lagging.
But with a coup in Egypt on Wednesday and Syria's civil war raging, the widespread optimism in the spring of 2011 has turned into fears of chaos during the summer of 2013.
None of the Arab Spring countries has yet established stable, democratic institutions, and several are sliding toward greater instability. Here's a quick look at where those countries stand today:
Egypt: Egypt's military staged a coup as the chief of the army, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, announced Wednesday night that President Mohammed Morsi was being ousted and the constitution suspended.
The general said the chief justice of the constitutional court would serve temporarily as the country's leader until new elections were held.
Morsi became Egypt's first democratically elected president just a year ago. But his popularity has plummeted with his failure to revive a sinking economy, restore law and order, or mend the vast divide between his Islamist supporters and the secular opposition.
His ouster raises the prospect of a bitter power struggle between his Islamist supporters and secular groups. This will play out in a poor country suffering from high food prices, gasoline shortages and electricity blackouts.
"The anger of the millions of protesters is understandable. But emotions are not a strategy for government. If Morsi is toppled, who replaces him?" Ed Husain, of the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in The New York Times. "There is no credible alternative political leader."
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