The military and security apparatuses of these Gulf states plays a role in keeping the peace, but the best way forward is to build a civil society that is bound by a unifying mechanism such as a functioning, representative, elected parliament.
This exclusionary cultural gentrification of Muharraq, while holding promising social and identity prospects for a handful, may risk alienating many locals.
The new labour market scheme represents an economic translation of the political victory of the merchant elite and its allies within government.
Although conservatives within the ruling establishment will go to considerable lengths to ensure Shiite political movements are kept at bay, expect them to be equally relentless in ensuring an uncontested domination over its core Sunni constituency.
A fierce political battle is currently being waged between the government and the opposition over the labour unions.
Over the past year or so, the government and the opposition have both been locked in a game of chicken.
Given the country’s regressive welfare system and the absence of a progressive income tax regime, households on the top of the income ladder who can afford to consume more end up benefiting disproportionately.
On 1 March the Bahraini government requested that the UN special rapporteur on torture delay his visit – meant to investigate the allegations of torture uncovered in the BICI report – from March to July…
Bahrainis of all political affiliations waited in tense anticipation as rumours of a Saudi – Bahraini union circulated days before the Gulf leaders convened in Riyadh for the Gulf Cooperation Council summit on May 14th, 2012. The summit fell short of expectations however.
The formation of an official agency charged with helping Washington identify and address threats of atrocity around the world is notable. But the United States's own foreign-policy record raises serious questions over its likely impact, says Martin Shaw.
Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, the 51-year-old co-founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, reaches his 78th day of a hunger strike today, just as world media attention turns away from the island after the Grand Prix. The Bahraini authorities tell us he is in good health. But what if they act too lat
An accurate reading of the Syrian crisis must take into account the political interests and motives of leading regional actors, says Rein Müllerson.
