The Arab Spring was supposed to bring peace, democracy and stability to not only the nations where it took root, but also others around it in the Middle East and North Africa. It was supposed to usher in an end of violence and heavy-handed government tactics, just like it ushered out entrenched leaders. In short, it was supposed to mean a brighter future. Not more instability, not more violence, not fewer freedoms. But that's what happened, even if the level of unrest hasn't been even or universal. Some countries, such as Jordan, instituted reforms without really roiling their societies. Others, such as Iraq, never saw a popular uprising, but have seen burgeoning violence. And now, Yemen is on the brink of civil war as it battles a rebel group that has overthrown the government and seized parts of key cities. Here's a look at some countries that were part of the Arab Spring, and what's happened since.

1. ARAB SPRING AFTERMATH: Revolutions give way to violence and more unrest
The Arab SpringbeganinTunisiawiththe ousterof its longtime leader
Otheruprisings -- some successful,some not -- came inEgypt,Libya,Yemen,Syria
Since then,manynationshave experiencedpolitical turmoil andhomegrownviolence
It wasn'tsupposedtoturn outlike this.
The Arab Springwas supposedtobringpeace,democracyandstabilitytonotonlythe nationswhere it
tookroot, but alsoothersarounditin the Middle East andNorth Africa.Itwas supposedtousherinan
endof violence andheavy-handedgovernmenttactics,justlikeitusheredoutentrenched leaders.In
short,it wassupposedtomeana brighterfuture.
Notmore instability,notmore violence,notfewerfreedoms.
But that's whathappened,evenif the levelof unresthasn'tbeenevenoruniversal.Some countries,
such as Jordan,institutedreformswithoutreallyroilingtheirsocieties.Others,suchasIraq, neversawa
popularuprising,buthave seenburgeoningviolence.Andnow,Yemenisonthe brinkof civil waras it
battlesa rebel groupthathas overthrownthe governmentandseizedpartsof keycities.
Here'sa lookat some countriesthatwere partof the ArabSpring,and what'shappenedsince.
Yemen
How it began:

2. Yemenhasbeenturbulentforyears,withwidespreadpovertyandswathsof the Arabnationoutof the
central government'scontrol or,worse yet,inthe handsof terroristgroupssuch as al Qaedainthe
ArabianPeninsula.
Still,for33 years,ithad stabilityatthe top,inthe formof President Ali AbdullahSaleh.
Thencame protestsagainsthisrule inearly2011. Securityforcesrespondedwithviolentcrackdowns
that lefta numberof people deadanddozensmore wounded.Asinotherplaces,thisemboldened,
rather thanscared off,demonstrators.
In November-- aftermonthsof discussion -- Salehsignedapowertransferdeal brokeredbythe Gulf
CooperationCouncil.
What'shappenedsince:
Despite sporadicviolence inthe run-up, YemenheldanelectioninFebruary2012 to officiallychoose a
president.There wasonlyone candidate-- then-VicePresidentAbdurabuMansurHadi -- but goingto
the ballotbox gave some reasonforhope.
"Thisis a people'selection,"saidMohammedal-Rowdy,avoterwhoworkedwithYemen'sInterior
Ministry."That'swhy we are optimisticthingswillgetbetter."
Unfortunately,theyhave not.
Instead,Yemenhasbeenbesetbyevenmore turmoilthathassteamrolledintoanactive and,inmany
ways,successful rebellion.The Houthis -- aShiite Muslimminoritygroupthatlonghasfeltmarginalized
inthe predominantlySunni country -- have ledthe charge,firsttakingoverthe capital of Sanaaand then
otherareas.
TheypushedoutHadi -- firstoutof power,thoughhe still claimstobe Yemen'slegitimate president,and
more recentlyoutof the country.
In the lastfewdays,an international militarycoalitionhascome into supportthe deposedpresident.
The Saudisand theirallies(all of themmostlySunni nations) have poundedHouthi targetsaroundthe
countryby air, while threateningtosendingroundtroops as well.
Where doesthisleave terrorgroupslike AQAP,arguablythe mostpowerful andfar-reachingbranchof
al Qaeda?It can onlyhelp,accordingtoexperts,withthe chaosservingitsrecruitingaimsandmaking
conditionssafergiventhatsecurityforcesare otherwise occupied.(Thefactthe U.S. militaryisoutof
the country helpsonthatfront,too.)
Andall of a sudden,al Qaedahas "real competition"fromISIS,accordingtoa Yemeni official.
Tunisia
How it began:

3. Tunisiaiswhere the ArabSpringwasborn.
Specifically,ithappenedonastreetinSidi Bouzid,incentral Tunisia.That'swhere,inDecember2010,
MohamedBouazizi -- a college graduate whohadn'tbeenable tofindasteadyjob -- had setup as a
streetvendor,tryingtosell vegetablestosupporthisfamily.
Thena police officerstoppedBouazizi,claiminghe didn'thave aproperpermit.Whatexactlyhappened
nextisn'tclear,beyondthatthe 26-year-oldsethimselfonfire infrontof a governmentbuilding.He
died18 dayslater.
By then,the Jasmine Revolutionwasinfull swing. Zineel AbidineBenAli,Tunisia'sPresidentfornearly
24 years,fledtoSaudi Arabia.Anda newgovernmenttookover.
What'shappenedsince:
It's beenmore thanfouryears since Bouazizi sethimself ablazeand,insodoing,setoff a revolution.
That time has beenmarkedbydemocraticelectionsandinstitutional reforms,andnomore uprisings.
These factshave ledmanyto considerTunisiaasuccessstory,perhapsthe lone one inthe aftermathof
the Arab Spring.
Still,the NorthAfricannationhasn'tbeenwithoutitschallenges.While widespreadviolence remains
relativelyrare there,more than3,000 Tunisiansare thoughtto have traveledtoIraqand Syriato fightas
jihadists,more thananyothercountry,accordingto the International Centre forthe Studyof
RadicalizationinLondon.
Thisspeaksto majoreconomicchallengessuchasunevenincome distributionandhighyouth
unemployment,includingforeducatedwomenandmenlike Bouazizi.Thesewould-be militants -- notto

4. mentionthose who've foughtalittle closertohome,like inneighboringLibya -- feltTunisiadidn'toffer
the right opportunityandhope,assome envisionedwouldcome outof the Arab Spring.
Some of those fightershave come home.Andearlierthismonth,atleasttwomen attackedthe
landmarkBardo MuseuminTunis and killed23people -- the majorityof whomwere touristswho'djust
come off two cruise ships -- before beingkilledbysecurityforces.
The suspectsgot weaponstrainingatcampsin Libyaand were activatedfromsleepercellsinTunisia,
SecurityMinisterRafikChellysaid.He didnotsaywhichgroupactivatedthem, or withwhom they
trained. ISISdidclaimresponsibility forthe attack,thoughitwasn'tclear if the terror grouphad a direct
or indirectinvolvement,if that.
Egypt
How it began:
EgyptianactivistsgottheirinspirationfromTunisia.Tunisianshadshownthemwhattodo if youthink
your governmentiscorrupt,itseconomicpolicieshave failed,andyouthinkthe statusquomustchange.
You hitthe streetsto protest,asEgyptiansdidenmasse inlate January 2011.
Some Egyptiansecurityforceshitback.But that onlyinvigoratedthe movementchallengingthe
governmentof PresidentHosni Mubarak -- the manwho hadled Egypt fornearly30 years -- evenmore.
The emotionswere rawandthe actionfastand furious,withevergrowingdemonstrationsmetby
securityforces.Dozensdied,buttheirrevolutionaryspiritdidnot.OnFebruary1, aftereightdaysof
protests, Mubaraksaidhe wouldn'trunforre-election butvowedtostayon throughthe rest of his
term.
He didn'tlast.After18 stormydays, the powerful Presidentresigned.
The move was metwithraucouscelebrationinCairo'sTahrirSquare,the hubof the protestmovement.
"God isgreat!" some chanted.Forothers,the mantrawas, "Egyptis free!"
What'shappenedsince:
But thisfreedom -- atleastmanyprotesters'idealisticvisionof it -- didn'tlast.
Yes,there washope.That was especiallytrue when Egyptiansheadedtothe pollsinspring2012 to
participate inanelectioninwhich,forthe firsttime,people didn'tknow the outcome beforehand.
"I am here to vote forthe firsttime inmy life,"NadiaFahmy,a70-year-oldgrandmother,saidthen."I
wantto see a newgenerationformycountry. I want everythingtochange."
MohamedMorsy, a top figure inthe once bannedMuslimBrotherhood,beatformerPrimeMinister
AhmedShafiqwith51.7%of the vote to become president.A brandnew constitution,approvedby
votersina referendum, became law inDecember2012.

5. Yet these seemingstepsforwardwere overshadowedbysimmeringdivisionswithinEgypt.Thesecame
to a boil inJuly2013, when the NorthAfricannation'smilitarytoppledMorsy andputhimunderhouse
arrest.Morsy's supporterscalledita "coup;"hisopponentscalledita"correction."
Morsy "didnot achieve the goalsof the people"andfailedtomeetthe generals'demandsthathe share
powerwithhisopposition,Egypt'stopmilitaryofficer,Gen.AbdelFattahel-Sisi.Thiswasfollowedbya
broadercrackdownon Morsy's backersand the military -- longa powerful force inEgypt -- takingmore
and more control.
There wouldbe anotherpresidentialelectioninEgypt,inspring2014. By then, el-Sisi hadgone from
militarygeneral to presidential candidate.
Thistime,there wasno close race,as whenMorsy won.The resultswere more reminiscentof
Mubarak's days,with el-Sisi garneringmore than96% of the vote.
Libya
How it began:
Three daysafterMubarak fell,callswentoutonFacebooktoprotestagainstanotherlong-entrenched
leaderinthe region,MoammarGadhafi.Andtwodays afterthat, about200 people answeredthe call in
the coastal cityof Benghazi -- protestingthe arrestof activistandlawyerFathi Terbil,anactionthat led
to more arrestsand clasheswithpolice,witnessessaid.
Outwardly,Gadhafi'sgovernmentdidn'tseemtooworried.
"There isnothingserioushere,"ahighlyplacedsource close tothe LibyangovernmenttoldCNN."These
are justyoungpeople fightingeachother."
The source waswrong.More protestsfollowed,andwiththemcame more violence.Withindays,world
powersgotinvolvedinthe fray.The UnitedNationsSecurityCouncil imposedsanctions onLibya,
includinganarmsembargoand travel bans,and U.S.PresidentBarackObamasignedanexecutive order
freezingGadhafi'sassets.
For months,Gadhafi andhisloyalistsfoughtoff anadvancinginsurgencybackedbyNATOaircraft. His
fightendedinOctober2011, whenhe wascapturedby rebel troops,thenkilledbycrossfire.
What'shappenedsince:
Gadhafi'sdeathmeant,forthe firsttime in42 years,Libyawouldhave anew leader.
Yet since then,the NorthAfricannationhasbeenlargelyrudderless.Gadhafi'sLibyadidn'thave
institutionstobuildoff of,meaningeverythinghadtobe builtfromscratch. Also,rebelsunitedintheir
fightto getrid of Gadhafi didn'tnecessarilysee eye-to-eye aboutwhattodo next.Ontopof all this,a
powerstruggle ensuedasmultiple groups -- fromtribestoterroristorganizations -- wrestledforthe
upperhand.

6. Tripoli ishome tothe internationallyrecognizedgovernment,andthe site of multiple bombings and
manyshutteredembassies.
Still,the capital isrelativelypeaceful comparedtomuchof the rest of the country.
That includesBenghazi,where the uprisingbeganandwhere fourAmericans -- includingAmbassador
ChristopherStevens -- were killedonSeptember11,2012. Three or fourmembersof al Qaeda inthe
ArabianPeninsulaparticipatedinthatincident,accordingtoseveral sourceswhohave spokentoCNN.
That group isn'tthe onlyone responsible forviolence andinstabilityinLibya.Some of itcomesfrom
tribal militiastryingtoholdtheirgroundandprotecttheirpeople andinterests.
Thenthere are groupslike al Qaedaand,more recently,ISIS.CNN reportedinNovemberthatfighters
loyal tothe grouphad complete control of Derna,a cityof about100,000 nearthe Egyptianborder.In
February,the groupput itsbrutal stamp onthe country withvideoshowingthe beheadings of
kidnappedCopticChristiansonaLibyanbeach.
Syria
How it began:
It startedwithchildrenwritingonawall.
Specifically,itwas anti-governmentgraffiti sprayedonthe wallsof a Daraa school inMarch 2011. At
least15 childreninthatsouthernSyriancitywere arrested.
Thingsspiraledfromthere.PresidentBasharal-Assadmade some movesaimedatappeasingthe restive
populace,includingliftinghiscountry's48-year-oldstate of emergencyandissuingadecree "regulating
the right to peaceful protest."
But it didn'tstopthe demonstrationsor,bymanyaccounts,the government'scrackdownondissenters.
What'shappenedsince:
Civil warisone way to describe the lastfouryears.Butit's hard to reallysumupthe scale of what's
happenedinjusttwowords.
Numbershelppaintapicture of the devastation.More than220,000 Syrianshave beenkilledandover
800,000 have beeninjured, accordingtothe UnitedNations.More than4 millionhave becomerefugees
incountriessuchas Jordan,Turkeyand Lebanon,while 7.6millionmore are displacedwithinSyria.And
some 75% of those still inthe countryare livinginpoverty.
"Everyday bringsmore death,displacementanddestruction,raisingthe fearsome prospectof the total
collapse of this countryandevenmore seriousconsequencesinthe region," U.N.Secretary-General Ban
Ki-Moonsaidearlierthismonth."Whileglobal attentionisrightfullyfocusedonthe threatto regional
and internationalpeace andsecurity,whichterroristgroupssuchas(ISIS) pose,ourfocusmustcontinue
to be withthe Syrianpeople."

7. Nothingaboutthiswar hasbeenclean,includingwho'sfightingit.
The one constantisal-Assadandhis forces,whothe UnitedNationsandothersaccusedof using
chemical weapons.Theyare still fighting,seeminglynotveryclose toeitherrelinquishingcontrol of
Damascus or retakingcontrol of wide swathsof the countrytheydon'thave.
Theyare fightingwhathave beencalled"moderate"oppositionforces,whichhave gottenthe most
supportfromthe Westbut haven'tgota lotof traction inSyriaitself.
The biggergainsand biggerheadlineshave come fromgroupslike Al-NusraFront,anal Qaedaaffiliate
the U.S. State Departmenthaslabeledaterroristorganizationthathastakenoverterritoryin
northwesternSyria.
Thenthere'sISIS,whichfirstemergedinIraqbutgot a secondlife inSyriabecause of the ongoingwar.
Thisgroup has employedrelentless,ruthlesstacticsnotonlytoterrorize civiliansbutalsotoconquer
vast swathsof territory.ISIS'aimis to create a caliphate governedunderitsstrictinterpretationof
Sharialaw andto punishall those -- fromShiite Muslimstothe West -- whodon't subscribe toits
twistedbeliefs.