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Iraq has felt some of the revolutionary zeal that has taken hold in the Arab world, with hundreds of people protesting against corruption and high unemployment. Some have died and some injured in clashes with police.

Pro and anti-government demonstrations were due to be held in Tehran as GSN went to press. The former will celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the Iranian revolution on 11 February, while the latter will be a march in support of Tunisia’s Jasmine revolution and the anti-Mubarak protesters in Egypt.

With Bahrain’s ‘Day of Rage’ scheduled for 14 February, a political opposition that has generally been contained by the state since the intifadas of the mid-90s could now present a real challenge to Al- Khalifa rule.

Four senior royals (King Abdullah, interior minister and second deputy premier Nayef, Riyadh governor Prince Salman and Crown Prince Sultan) have long-standing health problems, highlighted by their various absences from Saudi Arabia in the past two years.

The political environment has deteriorated. King Hamad seems to believe that his regime can survive only if it recovers popular consent. But he is troubled by deteriorating communal politics, and faces opposition from within Al- Khalifa ranks.

Violent episodes continue to threaten the good running of the economy and society, and the government remains dependent on strong US support to maintain security, despite the formal withdrawal of US forces on 1 September 2010.

Yemen is in a fragile state. The regime, headed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, is besieged on several fronts, with a Houthi rebellion in the north, a secession movement in the south, and increased jihadi activity by groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) pushing the country on a downward trajectory.

Since the granting of universal suffrage in 2003, all adults are eligible to vote and women have the right to seek public office. But civil liberties remain constrained. Media freedoms are heavily restricted, there is limited news flow from the country and the government reserves the right to censor.

After a year of turbulence and widespread civil unrest following disputed presidential elections, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government has consolidated its position with the support of the president’s powerful backer, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC or Pasdaran).

Opposition is not well tolerated, and the prime minister has again been grilled by MPs, this time over the heavy-handed police crackdown on a rally in December that left five people injured. The protest was against a ‘government plot’ to amend the constitution, and lift the parliamentary immunity of maverick Islamist Faisal Al-Muslim

A move towards elections was promised mid-decade, but a change in the ruling families’ social compact with their populations to promote ‘democracy’ has not been forthcoming. Sheikh Khalifa’s 2010 National Day address on 2 December was notable for its lack of any pledge to introduce more accountable elections to the ‘consultative’ FNC.

Although Syria is a bastion of Levantine culture, its portrayal in the media is often dominated by its politics. The West mistrusts its relationship with Iran and organisations such as Lebanon’s Hizbollah. Years of meddling in Lebanese affairs have strained relations, although efforts at reconciliation have been made, with Syria naming its first ambassador to Lebanon in 2009.

While Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula continues to ensure Yemen’s place at the top of the international agenda, the underlying economic crisis and subsequent weakness of the state are at the core of its domestic problems

The Friends of Yemen held a key meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September. The group, which was founded in January, called for the creation of a development fund and better co-ordination of foreign aid, adding that a key aim will be supporting the recent International Monetary Fund programme to restructure Yemen’s economy.

New figures from the Ministry of National Economy indicate that Oman will end the year with a budget surplus. The Export-Import Bank of the United States has approved its first direct loan to Saudi Arabia. Italian export credit agency Sace has guaranteed a $500m loan to General Holding Corporation.