Indeed, one frequent criticism of the Kosovars, and of their intellectuals, is that, especially last year, they hugely over-estimated the strength of the Kosovo Liberation Army, praised it to the skies (in newspapers such as Koha Ditore, among others) and puffed it up when it was nowhere near ready to take on the Serbs.

ECONOMIST: Macedonia and its Kosovars

Hundreds of Syrian and Lebanese intellectuals signed the document, which was published last week in the Nahar newspaper.

BBC: Syria is often criticised for its poor human rights record

In Sopheap is one of five Khmer Rouge "intellectuals" who defected last year after the Cambodian army finally overran the guerrilla movement's headquarters at Anlong Veng.

CNN: 'I REGRET NOTHING'

Crown Prince Abdullah, the country's acting ruler, was last month host to a forum of intellectuals who produced a broad blueprint for reform.

ECONOMIST: Arab democratic reform