Madawi Al Rasheed, a professor of social anthropology at Kings College in London, spoke about Saudi Arabia to Elizabeth Jackson, an ABC Australia’s correspondent.

Saudi Arabia tries to project itself as a stabilizer, as a force that would stabilize the region, but this means that they interfere in a very big way in other countries’ affairs.

…So the double standard whereby the American administration could support change and democracy in other parts of the Arab world such as for example in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya and even commit itself to military action in a place like Libya, whereas in Bahrain, where we have a pro-democracy movement that started as a peaceful movement, we have complete silence over that situation which, given the impression, given the clear message to the people in the region that democracy is a selective process.

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Saudi Arabia’s influence in the Middle East