A persistent political ice age

Entrenched Arab governments in Jordan, Algeria and even Syria and Yemen reacted to the Arab Spring with a mixture of political concessions and repression. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, offered none of the former while intensifying its crackdown on dissent. The kingdom’s political ice-age continues despite changes elsewhere. Saudi protesters haven’t demanded regime change; in February, three petitions signed by thousands called for modest reforms, such as a constitution, an elected parliament and an end to corruption. And a fourth group announced the formation of the kingdom’s first political party. In February, there were calls on the Internet for street protests on March 11,which proved a turning point. Authorities reacted by arresting most of the political party’s nine founders on February 16, and on March 4 detained Muhammadal-Wad’ani, who had called for the protests in an Internet video. On March 11, the authorities arrested Khalid al-Juhani, the sole Saudi