Arab Spring in Bahrain

Arab Spring in Bahrain

First Part

Conflict Mapping

Map of the Area

Bahrain is a small Arab country located on the Gulf Coast. Bahrain is also a member of the GCC known as Gulf Cooperation Council and it is a small island. The nearest countries located are Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The majority of the people in the country are Shia's but the government representatives consist of minority Sunnis. There is a kingdom in Bahrain which has the major executive control of the country. This is basically the map of the area (Bengio, 1999).

Brief Description of the country

Bahrain is a tiny Gulf island country that comprises of the population with less than one million people. Al-Khalifa family has been ruling the country since 1783, who barred Persians as rulers of the nation. Bahrain then came under British colony in 1861 and it continued to be its part till the independence in 1971. The country is basically a legitimate kingdom that consists of an elected lawmaking assembly. King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa is ruling Bahrain since 1999. The country does not have very large oil resources as compare to its neighbors, but the country has switched towards petroleum processing and refining. The country has also established into itself as an international banking center. The economy has turned itself as one of the most advanced country in the region. It is a fact that the Bahrain has a comparatively high rate of literacy but the unemployment figure of youth is well over 19 percent. In the recent days, the Western-allied monarchy invited the United States Navy's 5th Fleet, which was basically the step of the United States Defense Department to make a response towards the influence of the Iranian military in the region. The country has a religious split that comprises of Sunni political elite and a large Shi'a citizenry has created a lot of anxieties regarding the rise of Iranian power in Bahrain. After the demise of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, that also had similar sort of demographic distribution like Bahrain, Iran was able to gain influence in the country. The unrest which took place in 2011 created a lot of worries regarding increased Iranian dominance in Bahrain because of the change in the political winds (Bengio, 1999).

Outline history of the conflict

The protests in Bahrain that occurred in last February were basically the extension of very old significant resistance for the achievement of political independence that occurred after the independence from British in 1971. Bahrain got affected by an anti-colonialist Pan Arab and leftist wave that affected the Arab world during the fifties which demanded independence from the British rule. This resulted in the creation of an elected consultative council. The dream was in fact fulfilled for the country when Emir Issa Ben Salman Bin Khalifa gave a final approval to the constitution that led to the formation of an elected parliament. There were around 70% of the people that were elected from the parliament and 30% of the people ...