Arab Spring and the Theory of Relative Deprivation
Dr. Sadaf Farooq, Saiqa Bukhari, Dr. Manzoor Ahmed

Abstract
The paper provides an account of Arab Spring origin, ideology and demands of civil society. The political turmoil in the Arab world challenged the political status quo of Middle East and North Africa. Arab Spring is the fundamental event in the Arab world history. It also describes the role of well educated youth and power of social media in Arab Spring. It further explains the demonstrations at Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Syria in details. Specifically, the paper spotlights on the relative deprivation theory of Ted Robert Gurr to illustrate why Arab Spring emerged. Relative deprivation theory has been used to clarify how socio-economic shortages (unemployment, education and poverty) and political inefficiencies lead to collective turmoil. The answer provides a clue to resolve the current problem.

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