U.S. Navy Officer Presents New Strategy for Bahrain
Commander Richard McDaniel, USN, Federal Executive Fellow at Brookings' Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, published a report entitled "No 'Plan B:' U.S. Stretegic Access in the Middle East and the Question of Bahrain," on how the U.S. ...
June 25, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Featured, Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Sectarianism, US foreign policy, Youth
Kuwait’s Largest Tribe to Participate in Elections
Kuwait's Awazem tribe, the largest tribe in Kuwait, has decided to forego the national opposition's boycott of the upcoming parliamentary elections on July 25. As Sheikh Falah bin Jamaa, chief of the Awazem tribe, commented, "we might have our ...
Kuwait Cabinet Sets Parliamentary Poll Date
The Kuwaiti cabinet approved July 25 as its date for the country's next parliamentary polls today, scheduling elections for Kuwait's National Assembly for the third time in 16 months and for the sixth time since 2006. The ...
Kuwait Court Dissolves Parliament
Kuwait’s Constitutional Court ordered for the dissolution of parliament on Sunday and called for new elections. The top court’s ruling came after an opposition challenge to the voting system was thrown out. The case had questioned the constitutionality of ...
POMED Notes: Dynamic Gulf Conference-”A New Ruling Bargain- Reform and Gulf Elite Dynamics”
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) co-hosted a conference titled "Dynamic Gulf: Forces of Change in a Strategic Region." The second panel, “A New Ruling Bargain? Reform and Gulf Elite Dynamics,” was moderated by Prof. Marc Lynch, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the George Washington University, and featured panelists Andrew Hammond, former Reuters correspondent for Saudi Arabia, Ali Al Shihabi, ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Democracy Promotion, Economics, Egypt, Freedom, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Kuwait, Muslim Brotherhood, Oman, Political Islam, Political transition, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen
POMED Notes: Dynamic Gulf Conference–”New Trends in Activism: Youth, Women, and Islamists”
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) co-hosted a conference titled "Dynamic Gulf: Forces of Change in a Strategic Region." The first panel, "New Trends in Activism: Youth, Women, and Islamists", was moderated by Stephen McInerney, Executive Director of POMED, and featured as panelists Kristin Smith Diwan, Assistant Professor of Comparative and Regional Studies at the American University School of International Service; Jane ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Society, Event Notes, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Kuwait, Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar, Reform, Saudi Arabia, UAE, US foreign policy, Women, Youth
Kuwait Sentences Woman to 11 Years over Tweet
A Kuwaiti court has sentenced Huda al-Ajmi to 11 years in prison for posting remarks that were deemed insulting to Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and for suggesting he be overthrown. Al-Ajmi, a 37-year old teacher, received the longest ...
May 16, 2013
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Category: Civil Liberties, Featured, Journalism, Kuwait, Political transition, Reform, US foreign policy, Yemen
May 1, 2013
2 comments
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Courts and Judiciary, Featured, Kuwait, Parliament, US foreign policy
Yemeni Court Opens Case Against Ex-President
Human Rights Watch (HRW) praised a Yemeni court order to investigate the country's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and 11 top aides in connection with a fatal attack on peaceful protesters in Sa'ana in March 2011 that killed 45. Calling ...
April 30, 2013
Category: Courts and Judiciary, Democracy Promotion, Featured, Kuwait, Political transition, Yemen
State Department Human Rights Country Report: Kuwait
The annual State Department human rights report on Kuwait described the Gulf country's principal human rights problems as "limitations on citizens’ right to change their government; restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly, especially among foreign workers and stateless Arabs ...
April 23, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Democracy Promotion, Featured, Human Rights, Kuwait, NGOs, Reform, US foreign policy
April 20, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Courts and Judiciary, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Political transition, Qatar, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, US foreign policy, Yemen
Kuwaiti Jailed for Insulting Emir, HRW Writes Obama on UAE
A former Kuwaiti MP and main opposition figure has been sentenced to five years in prison for insulting the country's emir. Mussallam al-Barrak served six terms in the Kuwaiti parliament but was arrested in October 2012 for "undermining the emir" after ...
Video of the Day: Bedoon Activist Al-Fadhli Speaks after Release
Bedoon activist Abdulhakim al-Fadhli was released Sunday after being acquitted of attacking a police man. He had been held without bail for 103 days. He gave this speech shortly after his release at an event organized by the Popular Committee to Organize the Movement.
March 21, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Courts and Judiciary, Featured, Human Rights, Kuwait, Legislation
Opposition Groups Create New Coalition in Kuwait
Opposition forces in Kuwait announced the formation of a new alliance Sunday. The Opposition Coalition will bring together a wide spectrum of political groups under one umbrella, with the objective of reinvigorating the country's protest movement. The announcement was ...
March 5, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Featured, Gulf, Human Rights, Kuwait, Oman, Political transition, Reform, Yemen
Bahraini Officer Killed; Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Updates
The Bahraini government reported that a police officer has been killed after being targeted by "rioters" in an "unprovoked" attack. A press release says, "Mohammed Asif was targeted by rioters in Sehla who shot a projectile that fatally ...
Kuwait Considers Bidoon Law; Qatar Expands Regional Influence
A bill that would grant Kuwaiti citizenship to 4,000 stateless people, known commonly as bidoons, passed the first round of voting on Thursday. Another vote will be held later this month and, if passed, will require the signature of the ...
Atlantic Council Issues Report On U.S.-Gulf Relations
The Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East has issued a report titled "The United States and the Gulf States: Uncertain Partners in a Changing Region" examining the current state of relations between the U.S. and the Gulf countries and making recommendations for continued cooperation. In the report, Richard LeBaron argues that although there is "continued congruence of interests between the GCC states and the United States," the democratic ...
February 7, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Gulf, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Political transition, Qatar, UAE, US foreign policy, Yemen