This wave began at the end of the 1980s after the Revolutions of 1989. Its main theme was the hope that civil society, not enlightenment or revolution would pave the way for democracy in the Arab world. Civil society was seen as essential for emergence of democracy and that once a strong civil society developed, democracy was sure to follow. It was hoped that democracy would be achieved by the end of 1990s or early twenty-first century at most. The Saddam Hussein-ordered Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the subsequent Gulf War have formed a strong reaction against tyranny, which was seen as the main cause of the crisis. It also weakened authoritarian regimes and gave civil society more space to maneuver. The number of non-governmental organizations in the Arab world jumped from less than 20,000 in the mid-1960s to over 70,000 in the late 1980s to 300,000 in 2008. Despite all of these developments, there was no significant democratic change in any Arab state throughout this period.