Conversely, some of China s most disturbing moves can be chalked up to exaggerated feelings of insecurity. Consider the harsh treatment of the gadfly critic Liu Xiaobao, sentenced to 11 years in prison on trumped up charges of subversion for launching an Internet petition drive championing civil liberties.

ABU DHABI Qatar may be tiny, but it is having a major impact across the Arab world. By propping up violent jihadists in the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond, while supporting the United States in its fight against them, this gas rich speck of a country the world s wealthiest in per capita terms has transformed itself from a regional gadfly into an international rogue elephant.