First comes the Arab Spring.
Begins 17 December 2010 in Tunisia with the Tunisian Revolution also known as the Jasmine Revolution. Street demonstrations take place in Tunisia leading to the ousting of longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. The demonstrations were precipitated by high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, a lack of political freedoms like freedom of speech and poor living conditions. Resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, most of which were the result of action by police and security forces against demonstrators. Labour unions were said to be an integral part of the protests. This is the first run test, it is very effective.
Similar protests begin in Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Iraq. All uprisings start the same way. Allegations of high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, a lack of political freedoms like freedom of speech and poor living conditions, protestors take to the streets against their governments, government authorities attempt to supress the protest, violence escalates. These protests result in one of several options either the regime was toppled or major uprisings and social violence occurred, including civil wars or insurgencies.
But those are only the protests which resulted in high levels of violence. There are also sustained street demonstrations taking place in Morocco, Bahrain, Algeria, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Sudan. There are minor protests that are quickly shut down by their respective governments in Djibouti, Mauritania, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.
The arab spring comes to a close mid 2012 with Syria left in a state of ongoing Civil War, the Iraqi insugency and ongoing civil war, The Egyptian Crisis and Coup, The ongoing Crisis in Yemen and Crisis in Libya.
There's lots that could be discussed about these other countries, but one in particular reveals more than the other. Libya. But first....