[bryanlarsen]

Many people believe the root cause of the Arab Spring set of insurrections and wars was food inflation. And it's now a lot more expensive then what kicked off the Arab Spring.

[ethbr1]

The difference with oil inflation is that it also directly boosts revenues in oil-producing Middle Eastern countries.

Consequently, they can offset core staple inflation (and usually choose to) to decrease unrest.

It's core inflation without high oil prices that torpedoes their fiscal options.

[bryanlarsen]

Perhaps it makes it less likely in the middle East, but it makes it much more likely in countries vulnerable to both oil & food price inflation.

The immigration crisis caused by Arab spring toppled many governments in Europe.

If a similar set of crises happened in the Americas it would make the US's illegal immigration situation much worse.

[red-iron-pine]

> The immigration crisis caused by Arab spring toppled many governments in Europe.

that was entirely of their own making, though