By Madawi Al-Rasheed

Saudi Arabia's rulers are deploying a mix of force and largesse to contain the threat of democratic protest. But an emerging civic movement is determined to persist.

In the era of oil, voluntary servitude may become the only option for a people deprived of basic human and civil rights. But behind the scenes and prison-bars there is hope in Saudi Arabia: most of all in an emerging civil-rights movement that is attracting Saudis of different ideological, regional and sectarian backgrounds. The Saudi regime is responding with attempts to suffocate this young movement via two classic strategies - sectarian politics and heavy policing. There are growing questions over the effectiveness of each.

By Nadeem F. Paracha

So much is said and written about Islamophobia. It’s a tendency found in some non-Muslims, especially in the West, who question and discriminate against ‘Muslim attire’ (whatever that means) and beliefs. But those who speak the loudest against Islamophobia have little or nothing to say on another social illness that is haunting their own societies: extremism, and an obsessive-compulsive urge to drag religion into everything.

By Brigitte Herremans

After the breakdown of the diplomatic process and the emergence of a youth movement, has the time for rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas come?

By Jeremy Browne MP

A common misconception is that the Liberal Democrats are in the government solely to make the case for constitutional reform and civil liberties, while everything else comes from the Conservatives. This analysis is deeply flawed, but it helps to explain why some political observers, who know little about the Lib Dems beyond the most lazy caricature, fail to understand what actually drives the government forward.