[ClearCase_guy]

The Arab Spring revolutions began in Tunisia after a fruit seller set himself on fire as a protest against his government.

Just sayin'

[Cheap_Hessian]

Yes, I missed reading your post. It immediately reminded me of Tunisia as well. It is an interesting dynamic in how the central state keeps order. Rising food and energy prices puts all of these type of governments under strain. Pakistan, India, China, and most of the Middle East has some form of food/energy price controls or subsidies.

Governments must also use force, like in this example, to quell small protests before they get big. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have given the blue print for quelling protests. Harsh crowd control, eliminate the opposition leaders, and use effective propaganda domestically and internationally. China has the benefit of the Great Firewall to limit protest sizes unlike unstable Arab countries which descend into civil wars between government loyalists and organized opposition.