A Friday of protests across three major capitals and dozens of cities shook the Middle East and North Africa, with young people draped in the flags of their nations demanding a departure of ruling elites in Lebanon, Iraq and Algeria.

During weeks of demonstrations that have been sometimes violently suppressed by Iranian-backed militiamen, Iraqis have called for a clearing out of the entire political class that came to power after the 2003 US toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime and controls the country’s massive oil wealth. They poured into the streets of central Baghdad and other southern Iraqi cities in what some were calling the largest protests so far. At least six protesters were reported killed on Friday, according to an official of the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights quoted by local media.

Lebanese protesters similarly are asking for the warlords-turned politicians who have dominated the country’s politics and pilfered its coffers since a 1989 power-sharing agreement that ended the country’s civil war to step aside.

Algerians too, having pushed for the ousting of long-time president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, are pressing for the sweeping away of the entire military and security elites that have run the oil-rich country since the end of its 1990s civil war. They marked the 37th consecutive weeks of protests.

“Algiers is boiling, people marching and shouting out loud [the names of] famous war of revolution martyrs,” wrote Farah Souames, an Algerian journalist, on Twitter. “The entire atmosphere is giving all of us goosebumps.”

Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests Show all 16 1 /16 Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests Protestors burn buildings in downtown Beirut The protests in Lebanon began as a spontaneous burst of anger over new taxes. On October 17, mostly young men came on to the streets in the capital Beirut and across the country. They clashed with police and lit fires. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests A large fire is constructed near Lebanon's parliament building The new taxes included a levy on the messaging service WhatsApp. In a country where people were already struggling, it was the final nail in the coffin. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests Protesters fight running battles with police Protesters continued to clash with police into the second night. Downtown Beirut became a battleground as volleys of tear gas rained down on demonstrators. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests The joker makes an appearance By the third day, the mood changed. The violence of the first two nights ebbed and numbers swelled. People came out by their thousands across the country. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests Protesters occupy an abandoned theatre in downtown Beirut The protesters took control of the streets. They also reclaimed public space that had been off limits to them for years. This image was taken from a grand theatre in downtown Beirut that had been shuttered since the civil war. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests Protesters look down from an abandoned building Here, two protesters look towards downtown from the top of a building nicknamed "the egg" for its dome-like structure. It was part of a complex that was under construction when war broke out in 1975, and it has remained empty and off-limits ever since. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests A protester faces off with a police officer Women have played a key role in these protests. They have been on the frontline of demonstrations and sit-ins — which had a marked effect reducing violence. For the first week, police didn't know how to deal with them. In this picture, a woman police officer tries to negotiate with a protester to remove a road block. She was part of a team of women police officers sent out on this day. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests A group of women resists police attempts to remove their sit-in This image was taken during a police attempt to remove people from blocking a road. Again, the presence of woman at the front of the sit-in led to the police abandoning the attempt. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests A woman chants at a roadblock protest on Beirut's ring road Protesters said the road blocks were vital in keeping up pressure on the government. Without them, they would be ignored. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests A living room is set up on one of Beirut's busiest roads Some of the roadblocks were more relaxed than others. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests Tens of thousands pack Tripoli's Nour Square The protests may have started in Beirut, but they have sprung up around the country. This photograph was taken in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city. Protests there have outsized those in the capital Beirut. The city has been called the "bride of the revolution." Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests The crowd looks up as a singer performs for protesters in Tripoli's Nour Square The scenes in Tripoli are even more remarkable given its recent history. For years it has been plagued by extremism and violence. These mass displays of unity in the city's main square every night have done a lot to counter other Lebanese citizens' perception of Tripoli. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests Young men take photographs of protests in Tripoli's Nour Square Tripoli is also one of Lebanon's poorest cities. The protests here have been fuelled by desperation of poor people struggling to get by. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests Police protect protesters from Hezbollah supporters But the protests have not been without their opponents. As demonstrations entered their second week, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement began to show anger at protesters for their demand that all Lebanon's political leaders stand down. In this image, police stand between protesters and a group of Hezbollah supporters in downtown Beirut. Clashes broke out when they left. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests A group of Hezbollah and Amal supporters attacks peaceful protesters in Beirut The worst violence of the protests came towards the end of the second week. Several hundred supporters of Hezbollah and its political ally Amal attacked protesters who were blocking the main ring road in Beirut. Afterwards, they stormed into downtown and destroyed a protest encampment. Richard Hall / The Independent Lebanon rocked by nationwide protests Protesters pile tent poles in downtown Beirut after they were destroyed by Hezbollah and Amal supporters But the protesters came back to the main square, made a mountain from the poles of destroyed tents and placed a flag in it. The same day, Lebanon's prime minister Saad Hariri resigned, given protesters their first major victory. Richard Hall / The Independent

The latest protests in the Arab world are taking place in countries that mostly sat out the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. Many had said that Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, and even Sudan, which toppled its longtime ruler this year, had been too exhausted by years of armed conflict and disorder to press for change.

That turned out to be wrong, as ordinary people agitating for jobs, and decent public services such as electricity, water, education and healthcare took to the streets this year en masse, including in Egypt, where protesters took on president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s security forces in September.

“What the Arab Spring Spring of 2011 did was broke up the fear factor, and the idea that it’s pointless to demonstrate,” said Tamara Coffman Wittes, a Middle East specialist at the Brookings Institute. "The underlying factors building pressure for change have not disappeared. Very few governments in the region have done anything significant to try to address the pressures.”

It has been a renewed season of discontent throughout the world. Massive anti-government protests have also swept through Ethiopia, Guinea, Chile and Hong Kong, as well as massive marches demanding action on climate change. They show the persistent belief in public protests among young people.

In Arab countries, the root of the discontent is a lack of economic opportunities.

“The economic models in the countries across the region don’t work,” said Zaid Ali, a constitutional scholar at the IDEA, the UN’s democracy promotion arm. “The private sector is starved to death. The public sector can’t hire enough people. And demographics are out of control.”

Twenty years ago, a young college graduate in Algeria could reasonably expect a decent job. But now it’s just as likely he won’t get one. For years migration to Europe provided a safety valve as well as a source of revenue in the form of remittances. But with increasing intolerance for migrants, that has dried up.

“People’s main concerns are, how am I going to raise a family?” said Mr Ali. “What’s my situation going to be in 20 or 30 years? People are very pessimistic. Even if they’re not economists, they can see the trends, and understand very well what’s happening around them.”

The wave of protests over a hike in bread prices began in Sudan late last year, and caught on in Algeria too, after Mr Bouteflika vowed to run for a fifth term. Iraqi protesters joined the fray just a few weeks ago, prompted by the firing of a general, while Lebanese took to the streets in part over a new tax on WhatsApp calls. The protesters are not coordinating across international boundaries, but appear to be motivated by each other.

“Seeing protests in one place probably adds to inspiration in other places,” said Timothy Kaldas, a senior fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. “They have all their local reasons and specific dynamics but they’re also learning from each other.”

Iraqi protesters wave national flags across Baghdad's al-Jumhuriya bridge (AFP/Getty ) (AFP via Getty Images)

For example, in protests across the region, there is a demand for systemic change, not just the removal of one or more senior figures, and a barring of any former regime leaders from having roles in the transition, a lesson learned from the failed uprising in Egypt.

“All of them means all of them,” say the protesters in Lebanon.

“This isn’t a revolution against a prime minister or a president,” said Mr Kaldas. “It’s an uprising demanding the departure of the entire ruling class.”

Analysts struggled to explain why so many protests erupted this year. One factor may be the relatively successful transition to democracy in Tunisia, the first Arab nation to rise up against its autocratic ruler in 2011. This year, after its president died in office, it held an election in which the outcome was completely uncertain and the winner a relative unknown outside of all the major political parties.

“The primary value of Tunisia is contradicting the claims of those who defend the status quo by claiming there isn’t any way other way to do this.” said Ms Wittes. “Tunisia shows you can get rid of the old way of doing things and build it a different way, with leaders who understand they’re not absolute, who are constrained by the law and who leave power voluntarily.

Another generation of Arabs – better educated, more connected to the world – is coming online. They want to be the agents of their own lives. They want choice Tamara Coffman Wittes, Brookings Institute

Observers also suggested it may not be a complete coincidence that the wave of uprisings came after the territorial defeat of Isis. For years regimes from across the Middle East used the threat of the jihadi group as both a cautionary tale to keep potential protesters from contributing to anarchy that could be exploited by the group and an excuse to tighten surveillance and bolster the police state.

“For the last few decades the regimes have used some sort of security threat to justify emergency laws and various police state tactics,” said Mr Kaldas.

A rare confluence of well-organised opposition leadership and support for its aims by the US and the European Union forced a genuine democratic shift in Sudan.

But there’s so far very little evidence that the protests are forcing change. Buttressed by control over oil wealth, Baghdad officials are said to have felt no urgency about the protests, hoping to ride out the storm. Algeria’s ageing military and security mandarins also have shown little sign they’re planning to compromise with protesters. Lebanon’s prime minister Saad Hariri has resigned, but the government he formed and the system he was part of remains firmly in power.