This time last year, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire, sparking a popular uprising in Tunisia that spread to countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The uprisings have come to be known throughout the world as the "Arab Spring" and have caused more change in one year than the region has seen in decades. For months, chants across the Middle East echoed, "The people want the downfall of the regime." Only a month after Tunisians ousted Tunisian President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, it took the Egyptian people only 18 days to overthrow Hosni Mubarak after being in power for 30 years. 

Shortly after the downfalls of Ben Ali and Mubarak, Libyans took up arms against Muammar Gaddafi. After ten months of violent battles that took the lives of thousands of civilians, Libyan revolutionaries claimed victory when Gaddafi was killed in his hometown of Sirte. 

Protestors in Yemen hope to turn a new page after months of bloody crackdowns as embattled ruler Ali Abudllah Saleh belatedly signed the Gulf-brokered deal that will transfer power in the country by early next year. 

Early election results indicate that the moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, has claimed victory in Tunisia's first elections since the country's popular revolution ousted longtime leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali last January. Tonight, al-Alam features a profile on the once-banned political party that has so far claimed 30 percent of votes in Tunisia's historic election, in which some 90 percent of eligible voters turned out. While many worried about the potential for violence and chaos, the elections are being hailed a success. One voter said, "We used to be so ashamed of our country…But today we're proud to be Tunisian." Another observer tweeted, "singing and fireworks outside [Ennahda] HQ after first results announced." 

According to al-Arabiya, Ennahda's leader Rachid al-Ghannouchi, who was in exile for 22 years during Ben Ali's rule, wants a moderate system of Islamist governance modeled after Turkey's Justice and Development party. The party's campaign manager added that Tunisia's priorities in this new phase "are stability, conditions for a dignified life and the building of democratic institutions in Tunisia. We are open to anyone who shares these objectives. We are open to all forces without exception." While secularists see al-Ghannouchi as a dangerous radical, Islamists believe he is far too liberal. The Ennahda leadership, however, vows to uphold its pre-election promises of forming a broad coalition government and is currently in discussions with secular parties. 

With the first democratic elections, Tunisia is once again paving the way in the region as the next phase of the "Arab Spring" takes shape. Egypt is scheduled to hold elections next month and many eagerly await to see whether other countries in the region will follow Tunisia's lead. 

(Photo: Supporters of the Islamist Ennahda movement celebrate outside Ennahda's headquarters in Tunis. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters)

Syria: Over 4,000 gathered in front of the US and French embassies in Damascus to condemn both countries' interference in Syrian affairs. The protestors threw tomatoes and eggs at the buildings, broke windows, wrote angry messages on the walls of both embassies, and held banners condemning the French and Americans ambassadors' violation of diplomatic norms. Security at the French embassy fired at the demonstrators, leading to the injury of two people. 

Libya: French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that while efforts to reach a political solution are being exerted, it is necessary to maintain military pressure on the Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi. Juppe proposed a solution involving four phases: immediate ceasefire by Gaddafi's forces, Gaddafi relinquishing power, beginning a dialogue hosted by the Transitional National Council, and drawing a roadmap for establishing a democratic system with free elections.

Bahrain: The February 14 Youth Coalition has called for demonstrations on Sitra Island this Friday, named "Self Determination III." The coalition considered the dialogue called for by the king a failure, describing it as a "farce" because it was conducted amid the continuous crackdown on protests by Saudi-backed Bahraini forces. The people saw the dialogue as a maneuver to buy time as the authorities continue to arrest opposition figures and take arbitrary measures against peaceful protestors.

Tunisia: Six months after the Tunisian revolution toppled President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the country is witnessing a new wave of angry demonstrations. In January, the Tunisian revolution inspired other Arab countries to rise up against their corrupt dictators, but today, Tunisia remains unstable and is demonstrating that removing a corrupt leader won’t solve all the country’s problems. Elections have been postponed to October and the country faces severe unemployment.  

At the height of the 2006 Lebanon-Israel war when over 300 Lebanese civilians had been killed, then U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire, which she described as a "false promise." In justifying the Bush administration's position and its general policy of democracy promotion, Rice described Lebanon's plight as part of the "birth pangs of a new Middle East."

Whether U.S. foreign policy has rationalized violence and war as the price for the right kind of change or supported corrupt and tyrannical regimes under the false assumption that it is preventing the Islamists' ascension to power, the result has been one and the same: the U.S. has stood strong in the face of progress. It could also be argued that it is partly to blame for causing the Middle East to miss Democracy's Third Wave. Western nations fear that regime change – of mostly authoritarian governments – could lead to chaos, but their attempt to maintain stability and order has come at the expense of the people's quest for not only better economic opportunities and political reform, but also dignity.

In December 2010, a different kind of birth pangs was ignited by the self-immolation of a young unemployed Tunisian man in Sidi Bouzid. His cry of desperation led a people fed up with poor living conditions, rampant corruption, and high unemployment to rise up. The subsequent series of street demonstrations that erupted across Tunisia led to the collapse of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's secular dictatorship. The ousting of Ben Ali sent shockwaves across undemocratic regimes throughout the Middle East and unleashed a wave of self-immolations in a number of countries. In Egypt, the fear of copycat suicide attempts led the government to "[forbid] gas stations to sell to people not in cars and placed security agents wielding fire extinguishers outside government offices," according to Twitterers.

As Egyptians took to the street, their supporters followed hashtag Jan25 and watched in amazement as thousands defied police in what was dubbed the "Day of Rage". YouTube videos allowed viewers to witness a brave young man stare down a water cannon to cheers of "ya gada'a" or "you brave one" and hear thousands chant slogans pleading: “Leave, leave, leave, for good, let our country see the light." Yesterday's particularly violent repression against anti-government demonstrators in the port city of Suez and the fierce level of resistance there led some to label the city Egypt's Sidi Bouzid.

Despite the government's efforts to hamper organizing by cutting off internet service, suspending cell and landline phone service and imposing a curfew, Egyptians continued to march in the thousands. For the fourth consecutive day, enraged Egyptians defied authorities again through another "Day of Rage."

Understandably, a succession of observers immediately pointed to the different economic, social, and political realities in Tunisia in contrast to Egypt, Jordan, or Yemen. However, one thing is certain: their people all share the same grievances. Oppressed people everywhere are watching as the Arab world's yearning for political reform and social justice has been awakened.

The refrain heard on the street is that Tunisian air is blowing towards the people of the Middle East and North Africa. This unprecedented infectious mobilization has made it obvious that people are no longer willing to be ruled by either authoritarian regimes or religious fundamentalists. Now more than ever, it seems that a youth-led revolutionary movement is indeed the only way to enact an empowering change that serves the needs of all citizens.

As of today, shaken Arab rulers will think twice before underestimating their people again. Regardless of whether Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak joins Tunisia's Ben Ali in Saudi Arabia and despite the fact that it is too early to predict if these uprisings will mark the Middle East's own Autumn of Nations, it is safe to say these movements have already inspired millions by displaying the power of grassroots activism.

Tunisian poet Abu al-Qasim al-Shabi's verse "When people decide to live, destiny shall obey, and one day…the slavery chains must be broken" has never seemed more relevant than today.