Arab Spring vs. The Revolutions of 1848

[TheCurmudgeon]

Interesting analysis of two parallel examples of multiple revolutions - The Arab Spring and The Revolutions of 1848:

Though inspired very generally by the ideas of liberal nationalism and democracy, the mostly middle-class demonstrators of 1848 had, like their Arab contemporaries, very different goals in different countries. In Hungary, they demanded independence from Habsburg Austria. In what is now Germany, they aimed to unify the German-speaking peoples into a single state. In France, they wanted to overthrow the monarchy (again). In some countries, revolution led to pitched battles between different ethnic groups. Others were brought to a halt by outside intervention

http://www.slate.com/id/2285696/

It is worth noting that the instability that was "initiated" with the revolutions of 1848 did not stabilze until nearly 100 years and two world wars latter.