Democratic transition is long and messy everywhere, not just in the Arab world. There will be setbacks and reversions back to to authoritarian rule, especially in less affluent societies. (Samuel Huntington's classical book The Third Wave is worth a look on this point.)

The comments about demography and the jobs gap in the Middle East are very timely. As one example, Yemen's current crisis is partly a manifestation of poor long-term planning in the context of depleted oil reserves.