CENTCOM

The CIA World Factbook contains similar material and is freely available online, but Nations of the World includes a business directory, banking hours, and transportation information; a useful ready-reference source for reliable country information not quickly available elsewhere

Margaret Nydell introduces elements of Arab culture and Islam in an evenhanded, unbiased style and covers topics such as beliefs and values, religion and society, the role of the family, social formalities and etiquette and communication styles.

An exploration of the modern history of Bahrain and its international relations, Joyce investigates the country's relations with the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the USSR. Placing today's events in context, she covers the history of tension between Sunni and Shia Bahrainis and concludes with the still-unfolding events of the Arab spring.

Seismic cultural and political shifts are under way in the Arab Gulf monarchies. The political upheavals and transitions that have swept through the Arab world over the last 2 years have not toppled the Arab Gulf rulers, but did not leave them untouched, either. Rulers of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states face heightened internal and external challenges and uncertainties. Pro-democracy protests and calls are extending from Bahrain to other oil-rich countries of the Arabian Peninsula. The expectations of GCC citizens, particularly the educated youth, are increasingly moving from socio-economic demands to political ones. They are now not only asking for jobs or wage increases, but also for more political participation and accountability. Chief among internal challenges is the resurgence in several GCC countries, particularly Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, of a decades-long sectarian rift between the Sunni regimes and their Shia subjects. The Gulf regimes' already tense relations with Iran have worsened on the basis of alleged Iranian interference inflaming sectarian tensions in Bahrain and across the broader region.