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
“U.S. Strategy in the Middle East: An Address by Senator John McCain”
At an event hosted by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution on June 6, 2013 at 2:15pm, Senator John McCain gave his first public remarks on the conflict in Syria and his thoughts on wider Middle East policy for the first time since he visited Syria last month. Brookings Institution Vice President and Director for Foreign Police Martin Indyk provided introductory remarks and Senior Foreign ...
June 7, 2013
Category: al-Qaeda, Civil-Military Relations, Conflict, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Hezbollah, Iran, Islamist movements, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, NATO, Palestine, Political Islam, Political transition, Sectarianism, Secularism, Syria, Turkey, UAE, US foreign policy
Emirati Imprisoned Over “False” Tweets
UAE national Abdullah al-Haddidi was sentenced to 10 months in prison for sedition after losing a May 22 appeal. Al-Haddidi was convicted of sending "false news" through his Twitter account, violating the UAE's
May 29, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, UAE
State Department Human Rights Country Report: UAE
The 2012 State Department report on human rights practices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said that the most significant problems were "arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, and lengthy pretrial detentions; limitations on citizens’ civil liberties (including the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, ...
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
NGOs Urge Rights Reforms in UAE, Bahrain
Nicholas McGeehan of Human Rights Watch called on President Obama to pressure the United Arab Emirates to make genuine human rights reforms. In his op-ed for The Huffington Post, McGeehan describes instances in recent years in which former ...
April 16, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Featured, Human Rights, Protests, Reform, UAE, US foreign policy
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 ...
UAE Jails Activist, Saudi Arabia Interrogates Shia
A United Arab Emirates court sentenced Abdullah al-Hadidi to ten months in prison on Monday for disseminating false information about a public trial in bad faith. Al-Hadidi is the son of one of the 94 defendants that are being tried ...
April 8, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Courts and Judiciary, Featured, Human Rights, Saudi Arabia, Sectarianism, UAE
Saudi Prince Calls for Elections; UAE94 Trial Condemned
In a Tuesday television interview, Saudi billionaire prince Alwaleed bin Talal called for parliamentary elections. He said that the decision to add women to the Shura Council was "very important," but added, "For this to become historic, I think ...
April 3, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Courts and Judiciary, Featured, Gulf, Human Rights, Reform, Saudi Arabia, UAE
Weekly Wire – March 11
POMED's Weekly Wire for March 11th is now available. This week we highlight the following top stories: Deputy Sec. of State Burns Attends Friends of Yemen Meeting Tunisia Announces New Cabinet U.S. Calls for Transparency in UAE Dissidents' Trial Egypt's Parliamentary Elections Delayed; Police Begin Strike Sen. Rubio Critical of Recently Pledged Egypt Aid To continue reading the full Weekly Wire, click here.
March 5, 2013
Category: Courts and Judiciary, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Featured, Human Rights, Islamist movements, UAE, US foreign policy
Unrest Continues in Yemen, UAE Rejects Academic
On Monday, Yemen's President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi continued his surprise visit to southern Yemen by meeting with officials in Aden and advocating for using the upcoming national dialogue to solve the country's issues. Hadi arrived on Saturday amid Hirak (Southern Movement) ...
February 25, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Featured, Gulf, Human Rights, Jordan, Protests, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen
Saudi Women Join Government, GCC Pursues Military Hardware
King Abdullah swore in Saudi Arabia's first female members of the Shura Council on Tuesday. One fifth of the new Shura Council is comprised of women, with a total of 30 female members. The Council is remodeling its ...
February 20, 2013
Category: Congress, Elections, Featured, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Reform, Saudi Arabia, UAE, US foreign policy, Women
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
UAE to Try 94 Detainees for “Plot”
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) charged on Sunday 94 nationals for conspiring to overthrow the government. The UAE's attorney general, Salem Saeed Kubaish, said, "Their unannounced aims were to seize power...they had plotted for that discreetly at secret meetings." He also
January 28, 2013
Category: Courts and Judiciary, Human Rights, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, UAE
POMED Notes: “Freedom in the World 2013: Democratic Breakthroughs in the Balance”
On Wednesday, January 16, 2013, Freedom House and the Council on Foreign Relations hosted a panel discussion on the release of Freedom House’s annual report on the state of political rights and civil liberties in the world, entitled “Freedom in the World 2013: Democratic Breakthroughs in the Balance.” The panel, moderated by Foreign Affairs Correspondent for CNN Jill Dougherty, featured Arch Puddington, Vice President for Research at Freedom House; Larry ...
January 18, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Gulf, Morocco, Political Islam, Political transition, POMED, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, US foreign policy, Yemen
Freedom House: “Middle East Gains Provoke Intensified Repression”
Freedom House released on Wednesday a report titled "Freedom in the World 2013: Middle East Gains Provoke Intensified Repression." Freedom House found "impressive gains" in the past year despite being a region "notable for sectarian polarization, ...
