The U.S Role in Arab Spring

In December 2010, mass anti-government protests began in Tunisia and later spread across the Arab world. By February 2011, revolutions occurred in Tunisia and Egypt, Libya and Syria. The uprisings were dubbed as “Arab Spring”. Many nations in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA), that neighbor the conflict spots, have been greatly affected by the uprisings. Neighboring countries have experienced an influx of refugees, and a possibility of violence spilling over their borders. Nations that are far from the proximity of the conflicts, including the United States, have also seen an opportunity to have the dictatorial regimes within some nations replaced with democratic ones. The United States' foreign policy, concerning the uprisings in the MENA region, is to make sure that rebellions essentially lead to removal of the dictators and their governing offices, and replaced with friendlier, more democratic regimes. In September 2011, United States Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, has created The Office of The Special Coordinator For Middle East Transitions (MET). The purpose of the office is coordinate U.S. Government assistance to rising democracies arising from these revolts. The office employs and coordinates tools and other agencies such as USAID, INL, MEPI, DRL and others. Special Coordinator of the MET office William B. Taylor Jr., implements and designs different strategies in order to support transitions to democracies in the region. The Coordinator focuses on mobilizing and coordinating U.S. efforts to:

Support free, fair and competitive elections;
Assist the Egyptian, Tunisian, and Libyan people’s creation of enduring democratic institutions; Enable the current transitional authorities and future elected governments to deliver services and sufficiently meet citizen expectations, including through support for civil society and the private sector; Identify ways to support key sectors of the Tunisian, Egyptian, and Libyan economies; Increase