While the Persian Gulf has yet to witness large-scale protests akin to those of Egypt or Libya, the potential implications of such protests are far more significant than those surrounding the unrest in North Africa. This is because the Persian Gulf region is heavily populated by various forms of Shiism, even in Sunni-governed states on the gulf's western shore. This provides Shiite Iran — the region's predominant power — ample room for manipulating events to serve its own needs and threatening the economic well-being of the region's Arab states. Consequently, it also carries implications for the economies of other states that lie outside the Persian Gulf region.
