Political and social unrest has recently plagued several North African and Middle Eastern countries. While countries like Iraq are recovering from decades of dictatorship, North African countries like Sudan are suffering the effects of terrorist invasion. Although data on countries such as these demonstrate the effects of corrupt regimes, it does not explain why recent political unrest has erupted in some countries while leaving others at rest. After viewing data on various North African and Middle Eastern countries, one can come to the conclusion that government corruption has rippling effects on economies and societies.
Transparency International ranked the countries of Algeria, Sudan, Tunisia, Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia relatively low on its Corruption Perceptions Index in 2010. With ten being a sign of no government corruption and one signifying high corruption, Sudan and Iraq scored well below the 2.0 mark, and Algeria and Syria below 3.0. While Saudi Arabia and Tunisia ranked in the 4.0 category, these countries were viewed as severely corrupt when matched against the United States and New Zealand. When rating countries, Transparency International analyzes the lucidity and accountability of governments. In accordance with such analysis, it can be concluded that the six countries found at or near the bottom either had dictatorship governments or executed political agendas without public awareness or approval.
Such government practices have inevitably led to rising unemployment rates and social unrest. According to the Freedom House Country Report, Sudan experienced political unrest in 2000 when major opposition parties chose to boycott national elections. In addition, the United States invasion and governmental overthrow of former Iraqi leader Sadam Hussein has created complete social instability in the country. Not surprisingly, both Sudan and Iraq have the highest unemployment rates among the six countries with Sudan having 18.70% unemployed, and Iraq having 15.30% out of work.
Although these countries have experienced social disorder, they have not experienced it on a scale like that of Egypt and Lebanon. While Egypt has a lower ranking than Algeria and Syria in government corruption, citizens chose to march in opposition to their leader. In fact, Egyptians went to the extremity of refusing to return to a state of peace until their leader resigned. If one were simply relying on statistics, it would seem logical that Algeria and Syria also have an uproar of angry citizens protesting corruption since their governments are no more transparent than the regime of Egypt. These countries, however, have not experienced massive protests or long-term rebellions; a phenomena that data cannot explain.
While statistical evidence explains a lot in the world, it cannot account for every political or social change. Although some countries are more oppressed than others, some citizens choose to remain passive about living conditions and will not protest injustice. While Iraq and Sudan have the highest corruption rating and are experiencing political uprooting as a result, Algeria and Syria also have a history of corrupt governments but have not seen any major changes to their political systems. Saudi Arabia is a country known for its dictatorship and media silencing, but has yet to experience citizen rebellion. While statistics cannot properly measure that passion that a nation has to change, Egypt’s recent uprising clearly signifies the fact that some individuals are willing to live in inhumane conditions while others are not.