Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
Foreign Policy
As Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa visits Washington, this balanced and nuanced Foreign Policy article from April 2013 by the former U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain merits revisiting.
This weekend, the world’s best drivers will rev their engines on April 21 at Bahrain’s Grand Prix — the island kingdom’s premier sporting event and one that signals its good standing within the international community. But just like every year since protests rocked Bahrain in 2011, the domestic opposition and international media will use the event to vilify the government and royal family. During my visit in March, I found a situation far more complex than the partisan portrayals.
Western media reporting on Bahrain has resulted in a one-dimensional understanding of a complex situation, with little comprehension of realistic policy choices that the United States faces in the region. It has characterized the situation as a Tunisia-like struggle of people vs. regime, a Shiite underclass vs. a Sunni elite, with a focus on abuses by government forces against civilians. Let’s be clear: Most of the opposition is Shiite, and yes, there have been abuses.
But the calls for reform that began in 2011 have a long history in Bahrain, and almost everything else over the past couple of years is as disputed as it is complicated. There are disputes over whether the government was sincere in offering negotiations led by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Did the opposition miss its best opportunity by rejecting talks and demanding that the government make extensive advance concessions? Or were the negotiations a government ploy to justify forceful suppression? The government’s narrative notes that it released prisoners, allowed exiles to return, and withdrew its forces from the streets until the demonstrators tried to close down central areas of the capital, Manama. The opposition notes deaths of protesters, claims it wants only democratic reform, and says that human rights violations continue in nightly raids on Shiite villages. But one thing is for sure: Bahrain differs markedly from other “Arab Spring” countries with which it is frequently lumped.
Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
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Foreign Policy
As Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa visits Washington, this balanced and nuanced Foreign Policy article from April 2013 by the former U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain merits revisiting.