Muhammad, an average Egyptian citizen, has to work more than 12 hours a day to earn a living for his family. He works for a private company in the morning and in the afternoon he drives a taxi. Still, he does not earn enough to ensure a bright future for his children.

“I am getting sick of this life,” he said. “Nothing seems to be right. I have to work all day and face harassments from my boss and the police in the street, and still go home unable to fulfill my family’s needs.”

Muhammad’s frustrations increase when he watches the news at the end of the day and realizes how weak and incompetent his government has become. “We have become an inferior society and it hurts me that we have no pride left.”

He talked of his Arab customers who come to Egypt on holidays. “They talk to me about their hard lives and how difficult life has become. They, too, are frustrated and have no trust in their governments.”

Notwithstanding the Egyptian government’s promises for reform, Muhammad has stopped dreaming of a better life. “There is no hope. … The change we will get is only to secure the regime’s position and it will be as the US wants. No one asks me about what I want and need,” he said in dismay, asserting that there was no talk on reform before the US started to pressure Arab regimes.

Undoubtedly, discussion on reform in the Arab World has been on the increase ever since the two planes crashed into the two World Trade Center towers in New York and even more since the outbreak of the US-led war on Iraq.

“The war on Iraq has led to the loss of credibility of Arab regimes,” Dr. Mohammed Al-Sayed Said, deputy director of the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said.

“It has led to a political awakening in Arab streets and amongst intellectuals, who have started to rediscover democracy as an important factor for defending our nations,” he added.

A clear example, according to Said, would be the Nasserites: “Before, they were mainly concerned with the US and Israel. Today, democracy is the most important priority on the Nasserites’ political agenda.”

Emad Attia from the Egyptian Popular Campaign for Change (Freedom Now) agrees: “The war on Iraq has caused a form of pressure on Arab regimes.” Yet, he insists that this is an additional pressure that comes besides the already existing internal pressures.

As a reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks that threatened American security, the US administration, headed by George W. Bush, launched several initiatives to reform the Arab world. Many believe that these have constituted a source of pressure on Arab regimes that have in return adopted some changes in their pattern of rule.

The Saudi government introduced municipal council elections this year, allowing Saudis to experience a little democracy for the first time.

In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak surprised the world, on February 26, by announcing his intention to amend the constitution so as to allow competitive presidential elections.

“With no doubt ... US pressure has limited state oppression against reform movements in the Arab world,” Dr. Said said.

On the other hand, Dr. Amr Hamzawy, senior associate at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, believes it incorrect to reduce causes of change to American pressure.

“Ever since the 1990s there has been a change in the international environment, which has become less preferable to non-democratic systems and more preferable to values of human rights and good governance; and thus governments have been evaluated according to their respect for human rights and their extent of good governance,” he said, adding that this is a main factor contributing to the changes the region is witnessing today.

Attia of Freedom Now does not even see any pressures being exerted on Arab regimes. “In my opinion, these are not pressures, but political maneuvers, and, recently, this has become obvious as we realize that the US is not really exerting pressure for real reform but rather demanding some cosmetic changes.”

Founder of Yemen’s Erhalou (Leave) movement Abdel Rahim Mohsen believes that “what we are seeing today in Arab streets ... is a reaction to an accumulation of oppression and autocracy.”

Hamzawy explains why many attribute the tensions in the Arab world to US foreign policy in the region: “The Arab world is currently witnessing a moment of tension that leads to ambivalence and a search for future models. Today, we are preoccupied with the future form of the Arab world. [This preoccupation] came as a result of the shock of the war on Iraq and the realization that militants from our region are causing international terror.”

Many Arab countries are witnessing, for the first time, demonstrations denouncing heads of states and demanding comprehensive reform. Social movements such as Kefaya (Enough) in Egypt, Erhalou in Yemen, and others appeared not long after the war broke out.

“The Arab people are reacting to the subordinate relation of their regimes to the US, and the regimes’ impotence [and inability] to defend themselves,” Dr. Said explained.

Attia holds a similar point of view. “Social movements that demand reform have become stronger because the people have started to feel the flagrant failure of their governments.”

Dr. Al-Said believes that political movements in the Arab world started before the Iraq war. “The Palestinian Intifada created a new situation; people started to go down to the streets and demonstrate against the crimes committed in Palestine. This came after a long period of political stagnation.”

“Sharon’s unpunished crimes have led to frustration and a general sense of weakness that have led to the collapse of the Arab regimes’ legitimacy. The war on Iraq came to contribute to the political activity in Arab streets and the consequence was a political awakening,” he added.

The Arab world is currently witnessing a radicalization of opposition movements, Dr. Hamzawy says.

“Opposition movements are not adopting their traditional ways to pressure governments. Today, we see a strong persistence for reform. They are no longer afraid, and when confronted they return even stronger.”

To a certain extent, this seems to be true.

Last year, a group of Tunisian reformers and journalists announced the establishment of a Tunisian press syndicate, defying the state’s refusal and its control of the press.

Mohammad Maali, one of the syndicate’s founding members, said that Tunisian press has lost its credibility because it is highly controlled by the government. “We decided to set up the syndicate because we want to improve the profession on grounds of a sincere belief that without free press, real reform will never take place in this country,” he said.

The head of the syndicate, Lutfi Hajji, has faced much harassment as a result of his actions. Yet, as Maali insisted, this will not deter them. “We will continue with our battle regardless of the results. It is time to make a change.”

In July, Yemen witnessed deadly demonstrations over increases in fuel prices. Demonstrations did not stop until the prices were reduced again. “This is a reflection of the dire situation the Yemenis have reached,” said Abdel Rahim Mohsen of Yemen’s Erhalou, who is also a journalist.

Similarly, on August 30, Egyptian demonstrators continue to hold rallies in different areas in Cairo, even after demonstrations were met with police violence and dozens of protestors were arrested. In the face of what was described by human rights organizations as an organized policy to physically punish opposition activists, protestors went back to the streets in the weeks that followed, denouncing Mubarak’s rule.

Whether the US is or was behind reform movements and changes in the region is no longer the issue.

Other factors are being considered.

“The public space in the Arab world has become very sensitive to political issues,” Dr. Hamzawy said, adding that public debate about reform is now a matter of fact. “I just returned from Saudi Arabia and it was surprising to see a vibrant debate over change.”

Dr. Hamzawy talked of other factors leading to these developments. “Information technology has undermined state media as the people have started to realize that what their governments say is not necessarily the absolute truth. At the same time, the governments are claiming that they are committed to democratic reform. This has led to an increase in anticipation amongst the public.”

Certainly, there is anticipation for change in Arab streets.

Yet, Muhammad, the taxi driver, is not optimistic. “I have no trust in my government and I am sure they won’t sit quietly watching these demonstrations.”

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**Sally Sami is a freelance writer based in Cairo. Her main fields of interest are Arab politics, human rights, and democracy. She can be reached at sallysami@gmail.com.