The international news in 2011 was without doubt dominated by the Arab Spring and the eurozone crisis.
Gaddafi’s death closed a long and dark chapter- Anthony Manduca
History was made when protests – initially brutally suppressed – led to the resignations of the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents, and when UN-sanctioned Nato air strikes helped Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi’s brutal dictatorship. Gaddafi’s capture and death at the hands of the rebels closed a long and dark chapter in the country’s history.
Progress has been made in Tunisia with the country’s first free election, while Egypt still has a long way to go as the army is still in control. Libya – which had no civil society, rule of law or independent state institutions under Gaddafi – has had to start from scratch.
Popular unrest also spread to Syria, where the government’s response was as harsh as it was in Libya, but where unfortunately Russian and Chinese opposition at the UN as well as concerns over regional complications prevented any global intervention.
In Jordan and Morocco a number of political reforms prevented protests from escalating.
In Bahrain a popular uprising by the Shiite majority was brutally suppressed by the Sunni ruling monarchy, helped by Saudi troops, yet worries about Iran’s influence meant that no action was taken by the international community.
Protests in Yemen – where Al-Qaeda has a foothold, thereby complicating matters – continued throughout the year with President Ali Abdullah Saleh promising a number of times to step down, which he hasn’t yet done.
The eurozone crisis dragged on throughout the year, threatening both the European and the global economic recovery. Greece, Ireland and Portugal were all given bailouts worth billions – in return for austerity measures – and the fear was that Italy and Spain could default – which would have meant the end of the eurozone. Germany and France played a major role in trying to solve the crisis.
At this month’s EU summit, the UK vetoed a new treaty designed to tackle the eurozone crisis because Prime Minister David Cameron – in order to appease his eurosceptic backbenchers – demanded safeguards for Britain’s financial services industry. Cameron did not get them, and the 26 other member states agreed on an accord to forge greater fiscal integration within the eurozone.
The eurozone crisis led to the ruling Spanish, Portuguese and Irish parties being defeated in elections, while in Greece the Socialist government was replaced by a three-party coalition (including the Socialists), led by technocrat Lucas Papademos.
In Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi – who was already losing support because of allegations about his private life and his pending criminal cases – resigned and his entire government was replaced by a Cabinet of technocrats led by Mario Monti.
US economic growth is estimated at a modest 1.7 per cent this year while the unemployment rate was stuck at nine per cent, not good news for Barack Obama as he seeks re-election next year.
The quarrels between the Republicans and Democrats in Congress over how to reduce the deficit certainly did not help matters. No clear winner has yet emerged among the Republican presidential candidates and the party is still divided between choosing a moderate, like Mitt Romney, or a Conservative, like Newt Gingrich.
In Russia, Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party suffered a surprise setback in parliamentary elections, followed by mass protests over alleged electoral fraud.
Iran continued to worry the international community after the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, said it had information indicating Teheran had carried out tests “relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device”.
Direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians remained frozen, due to the illegal expansion of Israeli settlements, and the Palestinians applied for UN membership, which the Americans unfortunately promised to veto. The Palestinians, however, were admitted to Unesco.
US troops finally withdrew from Iraq but the sectarian violence and bombings sadly continued. Nato’s phased withdrawal from Afghanistan began, and 10 years after the overthrow of the Taliban the insurgency is nowhere near being defeated.
The world said good riddance to North Korean dictator of Kim Jong-Il, the world’s only hereditary Communist ruler, who developed nuclear weapons, while his people starved.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the first Turkish leader not only to win three consecutive elections, but to increase his party’s share of the vote each time.
Suspected Bosnian war criminal Ratko Mladic was captured after 16 years on the run.
Other key events in 2011 were the death of Osama bin Laden, the earthquake/tsunami in Japan, the UK riots, the massacre in Norway by a right wing extremist, the resignation of IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn over attempted rape allegations, the Durban climate change agreement and the death of former Czech President Vaclav Havel – a great man and a symbol of democracy who helped end communism in Europe.
Happy Christmas to all.