Rules, rulers and ruling

How stable are the autocratic regimes in the Middle East? After the Arab Spring it seemed like possibly the end of authoritarian rule in the region, but was it? Why are there different reactions to COVID-19? Who is getting on with their lives and who is not? Rules are everywhere. Some make perfect sense but others seem to be there simply to annoy us, so how do we know which ones to ignore or break and which ones to follow? Superman has saved the world countless times, he did other things too, but why are he and his superhero cohorts so popular today?