As well as the streets, they took to YouTube, Twitter and other social networks, or even contacted the BBC directly, to make sure their voices were heard.
Here is a selection of some of the stories of these ordinary people caught up in these extraordinary events.
Yet not all countries have seen their leaders toppled by sheer people power.
The government has continued its brutal crackdown on protesters calling for President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
The UN has said that more than 5,000 people have been killed by security forces since March.
However, the president also has his supporters, who have frequently staged counter-demonstrations.
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End Quote Damascus businesswoman on recent Syria electionsAll that anybody wants is to be able to feed their families and that is getting harder and harder to do”
The majority of those we managed to speak to, or who were able to tweet or comment via Facebook or other social networks, feared for their lives for voicing their opinions.
In August, prolific tweeter @AlexanderPageSY told us that life in Damascus had changed irrevocably. In The Libyan effect: Your stories, he said: "It's a war zone out there but, despite all the difficulties, people are risking their lives for a common goal: freedom."
He managed to leave Syria, and is now documenting the resurgent protests in Egypt.
Although it has generally been very difficult for foreign journalists to enter Syria and report freely, that has not stopped Syrians from managing to secure ways of getting mobile-phone footage uploaded to websites.
In June, we tried to give some sense of an overview of the demonstrations that took place at any one time in the country.
While it was not possible to independently verify the footage, BBC Monitoring, the BBC Arabic Service and foreign bureaux believed them to be credible. They translated the commentary, while places and people were identified by landmarks, regional accents and clothing.
Yemen too has seen its political landscape transformed by protests.
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End Quote Fatima Southern YemenThe security situation is deteriorating, along with our standard of living”
The unrest has dominated Yemeni life and led to its ruler of more than 30 years, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, agreeing to transfer his power to his vice-president.
Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to show their anger and call for change. But, simultaneously, Mr Saleh - like his counterpart in Syria - was feted at rallies held by his supporters and regime loyalists. In March, after the government declared a state of emergency, doctors in the country told the BBC that unidentified gunmen had fired on an anti-government rally in the capital, Sanaa.
The gunmen fired from rooftops overlooking the central square, which protesters renamed Taghyir (Arabic for "change") Square.
When Luke Somers moved from London to Sanaa earlier this year, he never expected to give up his teaching career to become a photographer capturing Yemen's year of turmoil.
Of the loyalist demonstrations, he said he worried that propaganda might have played its part: "Their message felt comparatively strained, and gave me little reason to doubt the rumours that many received payment for their shows of enthusiasm."
Meanwhile, other countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and even Iran also felt the effects of the Arab Spring.
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End Quote Mohamed Benrasali Misrata, LibyaThe Arab people are starting to have a voice”
Although the protests were generally quelled, dissent remains an issue with protests continuing to erupt, albeit, perhaps, on a less regular basis than those elsewhere.
Anti-government demonstrators continue to take to the streets of Bahrain despite an ongoing crackdown by the authorities, with issues raised in February still not resolved.
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