Reform in Arab Gulf regimes is unattainable – for now | Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/26/reform-arab-gulf-regimes-unattainable?cat=commentisfree&type=article
Much has been said over the past 12 months about the need for reform and democratisation by Arab Gulf governments. While it is evident that Gulf governments have an aversion to genuine democratic reform, it is far too simplistic to put the blame for political stagnation squarely on them. For behind these governments is a network of interests so powerful and intricately woven that it acts as a resistance lever even in the rare instances where serious political reform is suggested.