Ed Husain hosts Bernard Haykel in a discussion of the convergences and divergences in Gulf governments' policies toward the Arab Spring, both domestically and regionally.

The West may no longer be the main target for terrorist organizations; turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa has given rise to an increased number of more locally-focused attacks in the last year.

Ray Takeyh argues that Saudi Arabia may seem to be an island of stability in a tumultuous region, but it has problems that must not be ignored.

This was a meeting of the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Roundtable series.

Leading regional experts Gregory Gause, III and Toby C. Jones assess the stability of Saudi Arabia, its role in the reshaped region, and the future of U.S.-Saudi relations.

A leading Middle East scholar pens this "good introduction to the Saudi paradox of social change and political stability and an invaluable guide to the challenges the country faces."

Andrew J. Shapiro, Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, gave this special joint press briefing on U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, on December 29, 2011.

The U.S.-Saudi relationship has become strained by increasing mistrust and misunderstanding—most recently over Egypt and Bahrain—and gone are the old foundations of the informal alliance: the Cold War and U.S. operation of Riyadh's oil fields. This is the judgment of F. Gregory Gause III of the University of Vermont, in Saudi Arabia in the New Middle East. The two countries can no longer expect to act in close concert, and the United States should recast the relationship as transactional, one based on cooperation when interests dictate, he argues.

With the upheavals in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia must grapple with a changing political landscape, including Salafis participating in elections, says F. Gregory Gause. At the same time, he says the country remains vested in curbing Iranian influence in Arab affairs.

Gause posits that, though the Arab Awakening has caused tensions in Saudi-American relations, the two countries do not face a crisis and still have significant mutual interests that should be prioritized.

Changes in Saudi Arabia's leadership are raising questions about the country's stability in a region beset with uprisings and tensions with Iran. Experts say the Saudi regime should implement more aggressive political and economic reforms.

Bruce Riedel discusses what the selection of Saudi Prince Nayef will mean for regional politics in the Middle East and U.S. interests.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon interviews Ameerah Al-Taweel on why Saudi Arabia's women won't accept a reversal on equal rights.

Spared thus far from the Arab Spring, Mahan Abedin suggests the House of Saud begin the process of reform before citizens start to clamor for more political and social rights.

Ray Takeyh says that the reaction of Iran's opposition and its establishment figures to Washington's recent accusations that Tehran was involved in an assassination plot on U.S. soil suggests a more tenuous relationship between the Islamist regime and Iranian nationalism than generally thought.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says that King Abdullah's granting the right to vote to Saudi Arabian women is another sign that the spirit of reform blowing through the region is making it increasingly hard to defend women's lack of basic rights.

In this Vanity Fair adaptation of The Eleventh Day, by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan, the authors explore connections between the Saudi royal family, the September 11th attacks, and the Bush administration's suppression of critical evidence.

Isobel Coleman discusses the Women2Drive campaign in Saudi Arabia and says the next generation of Saudi rulers will have to face the issue of women's rights.

In the Financial Times, David Blair writes about the proceedings of OPEC's latest meeting - where Saudi attempts to ease Western oil supply woes were defeated unexpectedly by an Iranian-led coalition.

Ray Takeyh says the Middle East is moving toward a post-American era.