DK Matai has a great little outline on how the open source revolt spread in Tunisia.

It was very open much open source warfare (OSW, the dominant form of warfare in the 21st Century), but with a rapidly evolving protest/revolt twist (OSW + flashmobs). Thing is, the conditions within which the revolt spread are becoming pretty common. Here they are:

Extreme price shocks in basic commodities. Food and energy.

Extreme corruption. A globally connected elite appropriating everything.

Extreme connectivity. Cell phones and other social media.

Given that the global system is highly unstable (extreme leverage, concentration, tight coupling, etc.) and operating without a control system (hollow nation-states, transactional morality, etc.) that can mitigate excesses, we will see many more situations like this in the future.

Flash bang, the government is gone.

One counterweight that could insert order into the process as it grows: a trusted, rapidly growing, diverse, global open source economies + resilient communities.

NOTE: The global economy is heating up again due to the massive influx of sovereign debt used to prop up demand in the flagging developed economies and the ongoing growth of mercantile economies (China). That means that energy prices are poised to zoom again (already over $90). Jeff Rubin anticipates that we will bust through the $147 barrier sometime this year, which will crunch the global economy (again) just as government's cut back on excessive spending. If this occurs, a resumption of D2 will occur.

NOTE2: Got a tip from DK Matai (above) during a chat this morning that copycat self-immoliation is spreading (7 attempts in Algeria and 3 attempts in Egypt) in an attempt to 'spark' an open source revolt as it did in Tunisia. If you get a chance, take a look at the articles on DK's research company's site (mi2g). Really great stuff.