Bahrain Family Finds Difficulty Staying on the Middle Path
MANAMA, Bahrain—The violent crackdown by Bahrain’s ruling al-Khalifa family against a Shiite-led popular uprising here underscores the dilemma facing autocratic rulers across the region.
Across the Middle East, booming and increasingly connected populations are demanding the sorts of political and economic opportunities they see others enjoying around the world via Facebook and other media. But the region’s clique of hereditary and strongman rulers has long been wary of moving too quickly, reluctant of changing the calculus…