BUSINESSES DON'T THINK LONG TERM:

In Egypt, Democracy Is The Only Avenue To Economic Stability: How the business world--and the U.S. government--should look at the protests. (Shadi Hamid, 01.29.11, Forbes)

Investors should be worried. And most of them already are. Accordingly, where the people have made clear their desire for change, the international community should do what it can to facilitate successful--and peaceful--democratic transitions. Tunisia, the country that provided the spark for the events of the past month, may very well still fall into chaos. Pro-democracy revolutions don't necessarily lead to democracy. So the current phase of re-building the country's political institutions is crucial. In a country like Egypt, full-scale violence initiated by a fragile regime would undermine the little stability that remains. It may be the case that many in the business community, along with the Obama administration, would prefer to see the Egyptian regime remain in power, but under better behavior. This, however, does not seem to be a path the Egyptian people, led by a diverse and peaceful protest movement, are willing to take.

Democracy--with the accountability, popular legitimacy and peaceful resolution of conflict it so often brings--is the only avenue to long-term stability. Otherwise, authoritarian regimes will appear stable--until they're not. And, by then, it's too late.