Emir Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani assumed the throne in Qatar in 1995 after a bloodless coup removed his father of power. One of Thani’s first acts in office was to become the first Arab ruler to abolish his own information ministry, a longstanding tool in Qatar (and many other Arab countries) used to control, manipulate, or suppress the media. Not long afterwards, he funded al-Jazeera, the controversial network that has become the world’s most watched Arabic-language satellite television station. Al-Jazeera has been criticized by government officials not only in the Unites States but in most Arab nations, several of which have expelled al-Jazeera’s journalists for challenging the status quo. Qatar’s support of a controversial, not fawning, news outlet reflects a relatively speedy progression in its politics; in 1999, Qatar held its first elections (though only municipal), and became the second Gulf state to permit women to vote. Following the “Cedar Revolution,” Thani congratulated the Lebanese people for overturning their government. This is not to say that Qatar is on the verge of replacing the monarchy with a democratic republic; 5,000 Qataris were recently stripped of their citizenship, apparently because their clan was thought to be disloyal.