KUWAIT CITY -- When a street protest broke out here last month, the demonstrators weren't rallying against autocratic rule, unlike in other Arab capitals.
Instead, they chanted "Down with parliament!" Tying shut the parliament gates with the Kuwaiti national flag, they urged the country's monarch to dissolve its freely elected legislature -- a wish that came true hours later.
Associated Press
A Kuwaiti citizen Tuesday tries to symbolically close the gates of the country's National Assembly in protest against Parliament members, and in support of the emir, in Kuwait City.
According to rankings by Freedom House, a U.S. pro-democracy think tank, Kuwaitis enjoy more political rights than anyone else in the Arab world. But democracy, at least the way it's been practiced so far, is getting a bad name here. Kuwait is embroiled in a tumultuous power struggle between the ruling Sabah family and increasingly assertive lawmakers. The oil-rich country of 3.3 million people now is gearing up for its third