Can Globalization (not "social networks") Foment Successful Rebellions?

So I've been reading the New York Times with a lighter eye than usual, which had its own little benefit because as I was skimming I came across some interesting, but very understated lines. The one concrete example I could offer is about the Yemen riots, which, the NYT mentioned, were brought about as a result of the bad economy.

I'm tempted to assume that, in the other places where there have been riots (successful or otherwise), the main instigators were 20-35 year old unemployed males. Who, besides being the main component of the military, are also going to be the group suffering most in this recession, especially in any country where the women tend to be more firmly within the domestic sphere....

Anyway, there's no denying that modern communications have made things a lot faster--this kind of thing would in the past have needed months to organize, each moment increasing the chance of detection...I'm not sure if rapid-fire tools like Twitter have also given spontaneous protests more of an opportunity, too, but that's something to consider.

Anyway (+2), the initial predictions of 'The House of Saud is next!' remind me strongly of Marx's whole 'communism is gonna overtake capitaliiiiism' business--wrong! Because, quite frankly, the one thing that really motivates people to risk pissing off their government is having nothing left to lose. If you're broke, not getting married, hungry...might as well storm Parliament Square!

(In terms of Saudi Arabia, the people with a real reason to rebel are the Shias and the women. The Sauds could destroy Medina if the Shia pulled any tricks, and there's got to be a fair number of women who are either devout or unable to navigate the Internet-ways....)

So where does the global economy fit into all this? Well, two hundred years or more ago a country had to worry about nothing but its own system (and, until colonialism became really rampant, this was extra-true in all the non-European countries. Thanks, Europe). However, everything's plugged in now. No one's limited to their own resources, shitty or good--if a country wants the best bananas, or the best computer chips...or the best people for the job.... We have seven billion people on this planet. Aside from the environmental sustainability, which of course is a long-term disaster, do you really think the capitalism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries will suffice?