The Kellogg Institute for International Studies in association with the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies released a report, “Transitions to Democracy and the Arab Spring: Does Latin America Hold Lessons for the Middle East,” that examines how insights from Latin America’s democratization experience may be relevant for the Middle East today. The symposium was divided into two panels: the first explored the domestic challenges to democratization in Latin America ...

On Thursday, the Project on Middle East Political Science held a discussion with Sultan al-Qassemi, a columnist based in the U.A.E., well-known for his tracking of the events of the Arab Spring via Twitter, to explore the powers and pitfalls of social media during revolution. Marc Lynch, Director of the Middle East Studies Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs and author of the blog "Abu Aardvark," introduced al-Qassemi. ...

Al-Wefaq, Bahrain's largest Shiite group, reported on Friday that it would boycott the parliamentary elections taking place next month.  Khalil Marzooq, a leader of Al-Wefaq, said at a rally near Bahrain's capital that "if the party participates in the September elections, it will be giving the government a stamp of approval."  He added that the group disagrees with how security forces treated protesters. Anthony Mathew Jacob writes in Tehran Times that ...

The New York Times describes the "tensions beneath the surface calm of U.A.E. political life," including the opening of a trial earlier this month of five activists. And The Economist writes about how the Arab Spring is making U.A.E. "nervous," citing the growing campaign against even mild dissent. While calls for reform were met with the official announcement of plans to expand the right to vote to all U.A.E. citizens,  the government shows no ...

Human Rights Watch called for an immediate release of five pro-democracy activists, who have been detained in the United Arab Emirates since April 18 without bail.  According to Human Rights Watch, the activists were charged with "peaceful use of speech to criticize the UAE government." The UAE government said they were charged with harassment after the activists and other UAE nationals signed a petition in March that demanded constitutional and parliamentary changes in ...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to the United Arab Emirates soon to meet with members of the Libyan Contact Group. Assistant Secretary of State Jeff Feltman is currently in Abu Dhabi in preparation for the Contact Group meeting. Meanwhile the Senate Foreign Relations Committee postponed a planned session to discuss and possibly vote on another resolution about U.S. military involvement in Libya. NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen called on alliance members ...

On Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wished Yemenis a joyous National Unity Day, called on Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to follow through on his commitment to transfer power and declared U.S. support for  the Yemeni people.  She reiterated calls for Saleh's departure on Sunday following reports that factions loyal to the President had encircled the UAE embassy in Sana'a and refused to allow ambassadors from the United States, ...

According to Max Boot, writing at Commentary, the UAE has hired Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, to assemble a mercenary battalion for the government.  Boot argues that while the use of 'soldiers of fortune' is not inherently wrong , there can be no confusion that the UAE intends to use such mercenaries to quell internal dissent by force; with a particular focus on its large "underclass of foreign-born workers ...

On Saturday, UAE authorities dissolved the board of directors of a the Jurist Association, a prominent civil society organization in the country and replaced its members with state appointees.  Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that the action is part of a broader crackdown on peaceful dissent by the government. Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at HRW  stated that "UAE authorities have staged a hostile takeover of one of the country’s ...

Human Rights Watch reported that Ahmed Mansoor, a member of HRW's Middle East advisory committee, was released from custody after having been arrested on April 8th.  Mansoor was one of the political activists who recently called for an elected parliament in the UAE.  Two other activists are still in detention, including Nasser bin Ghaith, an economics lecturer at the Abu Dhabi branch of the Sorbonne. Bin Ghaith's arrest raises the question ...