Monday, December 20, 2010

The Beginnings of Something?

Unrest or fear of unrest in Tunisia, Belorus, and Iran provide early warning of the potential for more unrest in authoritarian states.

Or maybe these are just flare ups with no potential for anything more significant than signifying regimes with unhappy people.

These are, respectively, a generally pro-Western Moslem-majority state, the last rump of the Soviet Union, and a radical Shia state, so they are not any sort of trend. But it is news.

UPDATE: In the aftermath of the Belorus sham election, things will get ugly for the opposition that dared challenge the police state.

UPDATE: Something in Iran, too?

UPDATE: And something in Tunisia continues, with riots and clashes with police in Menzel Bouzayane.