This Opinion first appeared in Foreign Policy on August 29, 2012
Introduction
This Opinion was first published on Al-Monitor.com on June 28, 2012
What are the limits of free speech and open dissent in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? They are often unclear and seemingly arbitrary, but there is no doubt that Dr. Mohammad al-Qahtani, a professor and activist, went well beyond them, and he knew it. He was hardly surprised when Saudi prosecutors, finally fed up with his vociferous denunciations of the regime, hit him with a long list of criminal charges. He had predicted it, and in the context of Saudi Arabia, he was asking for it.
This Opinion first appeared in Al-Monitor on June 16, 2012
The death Saturday (June 16) of Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz is likely to have little short-term impact on the economic or political life of the kingdom or on its international relations. But it does accelerate the inevitable transition to a new generation of rulers who may have very different ideas about how the al-Saud should rule their people, deal with their neighbors and manage the critical relationship with the United States.
This Opinion first appeared in Foreign Policy on May 30, 2012
The massacre in al-Houla, where Syrian military forces and allied militiamen massacred more than 100 civilians in cold blood, leaves no doubt about the intentions of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime: survival at any cost and through any means. Assad does not have a Plan B.
MEI Podcast,The Consequences of Syria for Minorities in the Levant, 9 May, 2012
MEI Podcast,The Consequences of Syria for Minorities in the Levant, 9 May, 2012
MEI Podcast,The Consequences of Syria for Minorities in the Levant, 9 May, 2012
MEI Podcast,The Consequences of Syria for Minorities in the Levant, 9 May, 2012
This special edition of MEI Viewpoints offers snapshots of sports and the Middle East.
The Middle East Institute is pleased to host poet, writer and activist Nimah Nawwab for a conversation about Saudi women in an era of unprecedented change in the Middle East. Despite the many advances of the Arab Spring, the region continues to face mounting social, political, and economic challenges. In Nawwab's native Saudi Arabia, these challenges form the basis for her art and activism.
Podcast for Saudi Women in a Time of Change, 26 April, 2012
Podcast for Saudi Women in a Time of Change, 26 April, 2012
Podcast for Saudi Women in a Time of Change, 26 April, 2012
Podcast for Saudi Women in a Time of Change, 26 April, 2012