Chaos around the Mediterranean

The explosion of violence this week in Tunisia, the smallest and most affluent country of North Africa, is just the latest unrest to affect the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. From East to West and North to South, the region seems to be on the brink of becoming a hot zone for political crisis.

Rolling riots have broken out against Tunisia's authoritarian president, and the government has cracked down on the protests in such a violent way that the country appears to be headed for political collapse. Across the sea, the government of Lebanon collapsed on Wednesday, and the situation threatens to descend into violence as the various factions vie for control.

Not too far away in Greece, the country is still reeling from massive protests against the government's austerity cuts that have been forced by the debt crisis that has plunged the country into political and financial chaos. And at the western end of the sea, Spain continues to face protests over its own austerity cuts in response to its debt crisis, and the country hangs by a thread as it desperately tries to avoid financial collapse.