Also, the origins of the revolts in many countries may be in global trends like structural adjustment, but the perceptions on the ground are more immediate. People see their leaders getting richer and richer and no basic public services for the masses. People make the link between corruption and lack of public services sooner than they make the link to international institutions.

I’ll leave you with some chants from Luanda “Electricity, water, health and education!”
“They demolished my house, I’m gonna sleep here!”
“The police are going hungry, Zedu already ate!”