Be a U.S. or Russian ally. Let's face it: You need a big friend with a veto on the U.N. Security Council. Great powers rhetorically endorse universal values of human rights and freedom -- up until the moment that those values conflict with their own broader strategic interests. As former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, "Our values and principles apply to all countries in terms of peaceful protest ... [but] our response in each country will have to be tailored to that country and to the circumstances peculiar to that country."
Bahrain's ruling regime profited immensely from this tactic: The subdued U.S. reaction to its use of violence against peaceful protesters was due to the fact that it provides a home port for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Washington did little more than scold Manama.
But if the United States (with its pesky respect for human rights) is skeptical of your intentions, Russia presents a promising alternative. While President Dmitry Medvedev may have scant military forces to project into your region, he can be counted on to obstruct passage of U.N. Security Council resolutions that endorse outside intervention. In the case of Syria, Medvedev held up a resolution condemning Assad, because he was worried it would be "a dead ringer for Resolution 1973," which he believed had been "turned into a scrap of paper to cover up a pointless military operation." If Western powers want the legitimacy that only a Security Council resolution can confer (sorry, Arab League!), it's important to have a friend in Moscow with a veto that has your name all over it.
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