Techinology did have role to play in the success of these revolts and this is especially due to the increased dependancy on techinology.We made techinology an aspect we can not live without.For instance in Egypt showed that the move made the govt by breaking off internet connections embittered the demonstrators thus increasing their pursue for the fall of Mubarack's regime.This move created a gap in their lives and therefore they were determined to fill it.What human sciences can do is to come up with a theory describing human techinological dependancy and the effects that may arise if they are denied the right to use it...something like"Human dependancy law."

Technology has played a crucial role in the revolts all over the world especially the internet. Websites such as twitter and other micro-blogging websites have helped people share bits and pieces of information about each other and what is happening around them. When all other forms of communication were blocked, the internet although it was also blocked helped people in Egypt to share their experiences with the rest of the world. Their information also helped others to gain courage to do the same. In China, the 'Jasmin' protests were propagated through china's own micro-blogging website and could have started another revolt.
There is a definite pattern. All the countries that have experienced these revolts are countries where authoritarian governments exist and where the people are oppressed. Take Libya with Ghadafi who has ruled the country for over 40 years, Mubarak who had control over Egypt for over 20 years and many others just like these two rulers. A precise theory, I think, would be one saying that people can only be suppressed and controlled for only a short while before they eventually seek liberation. There is substantial evidence to support such a theory going way back to the days of slave trade when the slaves revolted and killed their masters.

Intrestingly one key lesson we learn is that the more you try to gag a furious group by taking away their voice such as the internet, the more aggressive and determined you make them try to claw back what they have lost. based on this conjecture let us see how the Libyan situation unfolds as the president remains defiant. If there is some consistency in human behaviour, then my human science conjecture tells me the Libyan president is going to be given a real run for his money. I hope his plane is waiting, otherwise my guess is that he will become the political martyr he wants to be.
The academic question here is, how consistent is human behaviour? Let us use this as a test case and wait and see.

there is an evident pattern in these revolts happening in Egypt and now in Libya. i think that seeing these revolts are taken place mainly in countries with a high population of muslims, maybe its their ideology that is leading to these revolts and the various beliefs that they are taught and that the only way they know how to deal with such issues is through protests and violence.

This is an interesting twist to how culture influences human behaviour which again sets it apart from the natural sciences.
Michael Djan
Meanwhile the situation in Libya is a real test case of all these hypothesis. Let us follow it closely and keep posted with the knowledge issues.

I think the issues in Libya have more to do with the political integrity of certain leaders but not mainly a matter of religion.I agree that most of these are happening in muslim countries which is ofcourse startling but I don't think it is a matter of religion because there are alot of muslims in and out of Libya who are not in support of such actions.This in my opinion is about Leaders who find it had to relinquish power and are offended by any mov't that critices them that they take offesive action like that of Mubarak and Gadaffi.

Evidently, technology has and will always be a critical contributor to the expansion of the ongoing revolts in North Africa, and everywhere in the world.Our dependence on technology has made it the primary source of 'global' communication -connecting all ends of the world. We see that the internet shut down in Egypt not only aggravated issues, but were ineffective in putting a halt to the revolts, as Mubarak had anticipated. Similarly, as has been said, the Jasmin protest in China were also facilitated by the internet.
With regards to the law, it would be rather inaccurate. The obvious trends are that many of the revolting countries are characterized by oppressive, authoritarian dictators- Mubarak, Gadaafi. However, this is never always the case as we know human science laws are never entirely correct.

i agree that technology has played a role in the magnification of these revolts. for example, the crisis in Tunisia was started through twitter.i believe technology has been a catalyst in all these happenings.

the pattern of countries experiencing these revolts are those with unhappy citizens mainly towards the works of the government. i believe humans are rational beings and would not go around causing revolts just for the fun of it, there must definitely be something that triggers it.

the human science can come up with a theory which will make it possible for future predictions of revolts. they will have to consider the situations of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya to see what the common factors of the crises were/are. Also, the response of the government should be taken into consideration.
however, seeing as human behavior is not predictable, some factors will have to be held constant or assumptions made.
this will not be a very accurate basis of prediction though, and must include a huge variety of countries(although it will still not make it a very accurate basis for predictions).

Ayikakor, I have learnt from Mr. Kitching’s classes that experiments are not the best remedy when it comes to the human sciences. Well, in order to make sense of complex real-world situations is simply impossible to run controlled constants or assumptions.

Olivia I agree with you to some extent that religion is not the main cause of this mayhem but if we see the pattern/trend most of the monarchial systems are run by the countries which are highly populated with Muslims. Therefore, I think religion can also be a factor to this situation.

And , I agree with the “IB Class of 2012” that we should wait and see if there will be a consistency in human behavior to revolt against monarchies in order to be achieve overall democracy.

Technology is one of the powerful things which mankind has ever invented past 10 decades or more. As my colleagues have already mentioned the use of internet to keep track of the polls, I would like to dwell on the use of weapons e.g. grenades, guns, atom bombs etc. The use of these materials has helped the anti-government protesters in Libya and Bahrain to go against the monarchial system; in order to hold riots, kill several people in order to prove their point effectively i.e. to take the first step for being a democratic nation.


On the other hand, I think there is a pattern which is being portrayed that is about the leadership of the humans in the society of the monarchial nations to change into democratic nations as mentioned before. A possible reason can be that in a democracy the general public has more freedom e.g.: in private sectors to buy or sell things in the country what the public demands and not what the king (eg:- Al-Kafhia family in Bahrain) thinks should be bought or sold. This can also be seen by the turmoil which was in Egypt because of Mr. Hosini Mubarak, who ultimately had to step down from his throne due to the escalating pugnacity of the public.


Yes, therefore, I think a very fruitful theory that can be deduced is that most of the Muslim based countries in North Africa and Middle East which are in the monarchial based systems will revolt against it in order to lead the way of a democratic nation. Not only in North Africa and Middle east but I think one day the whole world will consist of democratic nations only. Precisely in 2020……


The above is basically a “TREND” which I have analyzed after rigorous sessions of TOK. Hence it may become a Law in the near future that all nations will have a consensus on the onset of Democracy.

LAW: - “ONSET OF DEMOCRACY”

I think the world is waiting for me to be in action!! =)

Technology is the usage and knowledge of tools,tecniques,crafts,systems or methods of organizingf in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose. During their time of emotional and physical turmoil many Egyptians were able to communicate with the outside community their plights through social networks as facebook, twitter and video recordings which were sent to renowned news broadcasters as CNN, Aljazeerah and BBC. This created the awareness and interest for the outside community. I doubt if without technology people would have seen the true struggles of the Egyptian people in getting the democracy they deserved.
I think a pattern is evident in seeing the countries involved in these revolts. The Arab world is experiencing this mainly due to its refusal to Liberate. With its autocratic leaders and radical Islamic beliefs the people are being ruled as slaves, not citizens off the nation. However, it should be noted that these leaders have been in power for long and have contributed immensely to the economic stability of their nations. Ex-President Hosni Mubarak and President Mohammed El Gadaafi have been influential in their countries success. They have in some instances used their personal financial gains in the funding and development of their nations as in the case of Libya and Gadaafi. They will find it hard giving up power to a newcomer as they have ruled their nations for well over two decades and feel they are the only ones who can run the country effectively. However, this a wrong.
The Human Sciences can come up with a theory on these revolts but I feel that it will not hold as humanity is dynamic and may change with time. Theories such as " The mose exposed a nation is to technology and western developments, the greater will be it's quest for democracy" or " A political leader who rules a country for over 15 years through non-democratic means is bound to face dissatisfaction as time progresses". As much as these theories may hold for certain nations, we will see that the people of a nation may shift their ideologies possibly due to paradigm shifts such as the meaning of democracy and it's relevance to a nations progress.

Yes technology plays a big part in these revolts. Examples would be the use of social sites. I will not go into that matter anymore but rather answer the part of Mr. Djan's question:the theory. As it can be seen, there is a trend in these revolts. There is the religious factor,most of them being muslims, they are also arab countries. There are also the political disputes. Well with all these facts the best theory I could come up with was the Sarpong theory. The Sarpong theory states that people of different religions can be brainwashed by influential figures who use religion to their advantage. This results in a dispute between the brainwashed and those of different religions. Now this theory does not only work on religion but with others from many walks of life.

Technology does play a crucial role in amplifying these revolts in the middle east and north African countries. for eg, the revolt in tunisia started through the blogging site twitter. the revolt in egypt was made known to the rest of the world through the internet by social sites like facebook and also through online news broadcasters like aljazeera.
now to the patterns. we notice that all the countries going through these revolts are first of all islamic nations but most importantly are run by authoritarian governments or monarchs. therefore we can state that, people will not subject to suppression for so long but will eventually get fed up at a point in time and will eventually seek freedom.and the best way these islams know how is through protests and violence as i think it is a part of their ideology.

I think Zac is actually making a very good point here that as the countries begin to be well-equipped with new technologies, they are improvising their abysmal situations. Hence, with the common use of internet they will be able to communicate more effectively with the rest of the world and be abressed by the culture of different countries which actually will make them a bit skeptic about the different systems in the world. And finally make them realize that being a DEMOCRATIC nation means more freedom of speech and recruiting the UN Observances such as “Int. Women’s Day.” Etc.

Therefore, Zac’s first theory supports the idea of my recently invented LAW:- “THE ONSET OF DEMOCRACY.”

Papa Yaw, I like the idea of your “Sarpong theory”.But I think human nature is dynamic therefore, do you think it can ever become a LAW?? If it does how effective will it be??

It is very interesting that social sites such as Facebook and Twitter which many of us in this school use just to show off new pictures of ourselves and other relatively mundane issues are indeed the instruments used in the magnification of these revolts in Arab countries such as Tunisia an Egypt.

The voices of many people of such Arab countries have been suppressed. So then they find social sites as an effective way of bringing forth their voices. The reason why these sites have been remarkably useful in these revolts is because of the dependence of the world on telecommunicational advances such as the internet and others. People all over the world got to know of what was happening in Egypt just by the click of the mouse in their homes. I think technology uncovered fully the unrest going on in such countries.

The Human Sciences, after looking at common traits in the instances of each country, can come up with with laws or theories which give may predict future happenings. However, due to the unpredictability of human nature, this may not hold. Factors such as the progression of time and differences in the geographical area may weaken theories that are made by the Human Sciences. In the end, all the theories will just become assumptions.
I personally think that theories in Human Sciences, especially considering what has gone on in countries such as Egypt and Tunisia, are very difficult to make.

These discussions are very illuminating I think we should keep it going till the libyan jinx is broken will Ghadafi stay or not. What are the implications of the sucess or failure of the revolt in Libya to subsequent revolts. Will bulldozing your way and killing the demonstrators be the way to stop a revolt or would it be to give in to the demands of the demonstrators. any more theories possibly on how to keep yourself in power desp[ite a revolt is it to give out cash to cool tempers down? Let's have some theories.