Media Report
June 10, 2012Despite Arab Spring, Saudi Arabia leads a counter-revolution
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/despite-arab-spring-saudi-arabia-leads-counter-revolution
With much of the Arab world in a do-or-die stampede toward greater democracy, Saudi Arabia is looking to consolidate the old way of doing things. Riyadh is pushing an agenda to strengthen the long-standing union between its fellow Gulf monarchies, apparently to prevent the Arab world’s revolutionary fervor from spreading. The move was met with skepticism and outright hostility from neighboring states, which are reluctant to cede their growing autonomy. “The call for unification within GCC countries signals a resumption of a bipolar region, featuring the rise of post-authoritarian states on the one hand, and the solidification of conservative regimes on the other,” said Abdullah Al-Arian, an assistant professor at Wayne State University.
With much of the Arab world in a do-or-die stampede toward greater democracy, Saudi Arabia is looking to consolidate the old way of doing things. Riyadh is pushing an agenda to strengthen the long-standing union between its fellow Gulf monarchies, apparently to prevent the Arab world’s revolutionary fervor from spreading. The move was met with skepticism and outright hostility from neighboring states, which are reluctant to cede their growing autonomy. “The call for unification within GCC countries signals a resumption of a bipolar region, featuring the rise of post-authoritarian states on the one hand, and the solidification of conservative regimes on the other,” said Abdullah Al-Arian, an assistant professor at Wayne State University.
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