Gulf States “Nervous” About Arab Spring

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 signs of expanding the legislative body the Federal National Council (FNC) beyond its “toothless mandate.” Activists have received anonymous death threats, and the teachers’ and lawyers’ associations have been targeted for calling for democratic reforms. And reformers are further concerned by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed‘s plans to create a battalion of foreign mercenaries trained in crowd-control tactics, among other things, and designed to “put down internal revolts.”

Meanwhile, on Wednesday Kuwait authorized $70 billion in spending, apparentlfollowing the lead of Saudi Arabia, which has spent $130 billion to placate its citizens. Economist Amr al-Tameemi argues that while the Kuwaiti regime is not currently threatened by a strong reform movement, “they want to avoid any kind of political headache.” MP Abdulrahman Al-Anjari said the budget, entitled “a nation at risk,” is “very alarming.”