Open Letter to UK FCO Minister Lord Howell on Bahrain and the “Arab Spring”

Saturday, 18th August 2012 Dear Lord Howell, In the light of last week’s jailing of Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, and last nights killing of 16 year-old protester Hussam Al Haddad, I write to you to request clarification of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office position on Bahrain the “Arab Spring”. In particular, I request … Continue reading →

A gloomy LSE report on the “Arab Spring”: if real change is to happen, is Bahrain key?

As a percentage of population the Bahrain pro-democracy demonstrations have been the best attended of all demonstrations in the Arab World 2011-2012: the key to the success of failure of the “Arab Spring” is in Bahrain and beyond Bahrain, Saudi…. Perhaps a gloomy report on the “Arab Spring” from a recent report from the London … Continue reading →

(Bahrain) Formula 1: an irrelevance?

Wednesday 18th April The 2012 Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix continues to generate controversy. There are three basic positions on the race, to which I’ll add a fourth: The race is good for Bahrain, bringing in money and uniting the country The race legitimises a repressive regime that has lost legitimacy in the eyes of … Continue reading →