- Tunisian spark -

On December 17, 2010, a young Tunisian who sold vegetables from a barrow sets himself on fire to protest police harassment.

Mohamed Bouazizi dies on January 4, 2011 but not before his gesture goes viral, sparking protests against the cost of living and the country's authoritarian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Socio-Economic Factors of the Jasmine Revolution

In December! Yet the domino effect of unrest in MENA region became known as Arab Spring. Sowing seeds for a renewal ... same with the action of Dutch agrifood sector ... transition is key.

'Sapere aude'

Syria: Climate Change, Drought and Social Unrest | Center for Climate and Security - 2012 |

Syria's current social unrest is, in the most direct sense, a reaction to a brutal and out-of-touch regime and a response to the political wave of change that began in Tunisia early last year. However, that's not the whole story. The past few years have seen a number of significant social, economic, environmental and climatic changes in Syria that have eroded the social contract between citizen and government in the country, have strengthened the case for the opposition movement, and irreparably damaged the legitimacy of the al-Assad regime.