thesoufancenter.org
Fallout from Hormuz: Grievances over Fuel Prices and Supply Shortages Spark Global Protests
As the Iran war’s chokehold on key maritime passageways has drawn out, rising global supply shortages of key resources like fuel, fertilizer, helium, and other products have sparked increasing concern, public demonstrations, and even riots around the world. Just days after oil prices climbed above $100 per barrel, protests and riots erupted in Syria, Guatemala, France, and the Philippines, with the potential for further demonstrations elsewhere in the international community as the cost of living continues to rise. These protests will have a direct impact on political legitimacy and could destabilize governments perceived as either unwilling or unable to provide basic services and fuel subsidies to their populations, leading to second-order effects with major implications. War and conflict always have spillover effects beyond their borders, but the Iran war has been a case study of a regional conflict with global ramifications far beyond what many anticipated. As the fighting intensifies across the Gulf — with continued U.S. strikes on Iranian oil tankers, Houthi consolidation of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and strikes on Saudi Arabia, and continued diplomatic breakdown — many countries with households dependent on heating oil are facing a bleak winter of rising prices and increased political friction over...
