A mockery of human rights  
Comment Is Free, June 22, 2006 

The UN's new Human Rights Council should cut the crap and concentrate on the first two articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Arms and the women  
Comment Is Free, June 20, 2006 

What do quotas and armed conflicts have in common? Both can improve the gender balance in parliaments, a survey reveals.

End of a love affair 
Comment Is Free, June 15, 2006 

Should westerners mind their own business about injustices in the rest of the world?

Let's talk about sex, habibi 
Comment Is Free, June 14, 2006

A Guardian debate explores the shifting boundaries of freedom of expression in the Middle East.

Sex and violence: the history 
Comment Is Free, June 13, 2006

Is free expression just a matter of time, place and context? The Guardian and the British Museum aim to find out.

Where comment is not free  
Comment Is Free, June 9, 2006 

Growing numbers of cyber-dissidents imprisoned round the world need an organisation specifically to defend bloggers' rights.

False prophets  
Comment Is Free, June 5, 2006

The US loves listening to its Arab/Muslim 'reformers'. And they love telling the US just what it wants to hear.

Bush's historian  
Comment Is Free, May 2, 2006

The tributes to Bernard Lewis, the man who coined the term 'clash of civilisations', fail to convey how controversial he is.

Unnatural selection 
The Guardian, June 13 2005 

What happened, I sometimes wonder, to all those Lebanese flags? Earlier this year they were everywhere in Beirut; draped from balconies, fluttering from cars and motorbikes, and waved by demonstrators in their hundreds of thousands.

Writing on the wall 
The Guardian, March 09 2005 

Beirut, the morning after. The Hizbullah demonstrators who packed Riad al-Solh square yesterday have gone, and so have most of the anti-Syrian demonstrators from the day before.

Ballot boxing 
The Guardian, December 13 2004

It's not exactly election fever, but over the next couple of months voters will go to the polls in three very different parts of the Arab world. On January 9, Palestinians will choose their new president. Iraqis are due to vote on January 30, and on Feb 10, Saudi Arabia will hold the first in a series of local government elections.

The Middle East in 2020 
Towards the end of 2004, the Guardian newspaper published a series of articles imagining the world in 2020. In this extract, Brian Whitaker looks at the future of the Middle East. The original article is here.

Democracy in the Middle East 
A series of five articles looking at the problems of democracy, published in March and April 2004: 

Part one: Beware instant democracy
Part two: All together now
Part three: Fuelling the status quo
Part four: Core of the conflict
Part five: suspect packages

From Turkey to Tibet
The Guardian, February 23 2004

I have been writing about it in the Guardian for almost four years and I'm fairly sure that I have been there, but I have to confess that I don't know for certain where the Middle East is.

Voting for the wrong side 
The Guardian, February 16 2004

Undaunted by the current muddle over elections in Iraq, the United States is pressing ahead with plans to democratise the rest of the Middle East.

Polls apart  
March 04 2002

The first ever opinion poll in Muslim countries reveals the gap in perception between residents of the Middle East and the west, but the findings have to be read with care ...

Hereditary republics in Arab states
The Guardian, August 28 2001

A rumour swept Egypt last week that President Hosni Mubarak had suffered a heart attack. Though this caused only a momentary flicker of concern among the Egyptian public, the government moved swiftly to knock the tale on the head.

Arab politicians eye up makeover
The Guardian, July 16 2001

On a recent visit to London, the Syrian foreign minister, Farouk al-Sharaa, held a press conference. Although originally scheduled to take place in a penthouse suite at one of the best hotels, it was moved at the last minute to a room in the cellar.

Moroccan prince denounces 'despotism'
The Guardian, July 09 2001

Not long ago, any Moroccan who described the country's system of government as "despotism" would have been hauled in for questioning and quite possibly bundled off to one of the desert jails, never to be seen again.

Sandy shores and a media desert
The Guardian, July 02 2001

"Hear the siren song that calls you to Tunisia. This hospitable land of colours and contrasts, spices and scents, invites you to enjoy its natural beauty, ancient cities, lively festivals and warm friendliness of its people. Welcoming visitors to its shores has long been an honoured Tunisian tradition."

Arab rulers undertake reform
The Guardian, February 21 2001

Most parents in Britain would, I'm sure, balk at the idea of naming a child "Referendum" or "New Labour". But in the Middle East, where people take their politics seriously, it's different.

Saudis open a can of words  
The Guardian, February 14 2001

Cracking down on corruption can produce a host of new problems ...

Infrastructure of corruption
The Guardian, January 26 2001

Our bus was full when it left Tangiers, but it's even fuller now. Along the way we've picked up a dozen extra passengers and they're standing, crammed in the aisle, for a six-hour journey.

Why sovereignty rules in the Arab world
September 01 2000

One of the intriguing features of Arab politics is that the serious bickering usually takes place beneath a shower of pleasantries, while outright threats are rarely as menacing as they at first seem.