The rapid spread of protests have caught the policy makers flat footed, with some Western powers praising the Iranian protestors whilst appearing less certain of the position to take with the Bahrainis and rightly delivering outright condemnation of Colonel Gaddaffi, who appears to have declared war on his people.
For the moment people power is flexing its muscles, nowhere more surprising than Libya with over 200 dead; (live on the internet) demonstrations in Morocco; street battles in Teheran; (live on YouTube) continued unrest in Egypt; more protests in Bahrain. What started out as a little local difficulty in Tunisia brought down the president there and eventually ended the 30 year reign of Hosni Mubarack in Egypt, the Arab world's most powerful state.
The protests could act as a trigger for a significant crisis, threatening to affect a region, which is of critical importance to the financial stability of many countries. Whilst politicians talk of democracy there are a range of scenarios that look far more threatening. If a solution is not achieved quickly and the protests continue the impacts could be far reaching.
We are witnessing an internet generation challenging the traditional order with information and protest action spreading at the speed of a virus through the web, monitored across the world through mobile phone photography and web sharing. Where will it end? The old order is threatened not only in the countries of the Middle East, but also in the political circles of Washington and Whitehall.
We may all catch a nasty cold from the fallout; now could be the time to review how the potential crisis could affect your organization. Start the monitoring, run the issues and brief your teams, look after your people.
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