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Bahrain's Arrested Revolution
Abstract
This article provides an overview and analysis of the 2011 pro-democracy struggle in Bahrain, focusing in particular on the role of strategic nonviolent action and the foreign policy of the United States. It argues that Bahrain's progressive and pluralistic tradition would have made the possibilities of a democratic transition more promising than in many Arab states, but the ruthlessness and uncompromising posture of the government, combined with Saudi-led intervention and a refusal by the United States to support democratic forces, led to the movement's suppression. The article also challenges exaggerated accounts of the sectarian dimension of the conflict and faults the United States for its ongoing support for the Bahraini regime as a major contributor to the failure of the pro-democracy struggle.
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Author and article information
Notes
Human Rights Watch, “Joint Letter to US Congress Regarding Arms Sale to Bahrain,” September 27, 2011.
Department of State, 2010 Human Rights Report: Bahrain.
Adrian Karatnycky and Peter Ackerman, How Freedom is Won: From Civil Struggle to Durable Democracy (Freedom House, 2005).
Maria Stephan and Erica Chenoweth, “Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict,” International Security 33:1, 7–44.
“A Statement by Bahraini Youth for Freedom,” Bahrainonline, February 12, 2011.
“Authorities block page of online group calling for demonstrations,” International Freedom of Expression Exchange, February 6, 2011.
Bahrain Center for Human Rights, “An open letter to the King of Bahrain to avoid the worst case scenario,” February 12, 2011.
Al Jazeera, “Clashes rock Bahraini capital,” February 17, 2011.
Adrian Blomfield, “Bahrain royal family orders army to turn on the people,” The Telegraph , February 18, 2011.
Joost Hiltermann and Kelly McEvers, “Barricaded in Bahrain,” New York Review of Books Blog , December 27, 2011.
Huffington Post, “Bahrain protests: Opposition rally draws more than 10,000,” June 11, 2011.
Cited in Hiltermann and McEvers, “Barricaded in Bahrain.”
Dennis Ross, address before the annual meeting of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, Washington, DC, April 15, 2011.
Office of the Press Secretary, “Remarks by the President on the Middle East and North Africa,” The White House, May 19, 2011.
Office of the Press Secretary, Press Conference by the President, The White House, February 15, 2011.
Donna Miles, “Mullen reaffirms American-Bahraini alliance,” American Forces Press Service, February 25, 2011.
Mark Lander and Helene Cooper, “U.S. trying to pick winners in new Mideast,” New York Times , February 24, 2011.
Adam Entous and Julian E. Barnes, “U.S. wavers on ‘regime change’,” Wall Street Journal , March 5, 2011.
Office of the Press Secretary, “Remarks by the President on the Middle East and North Africa,” The White House, May 19, 2011.
Office of the Press Secretary, “Remarks by President Obama in Address to the United Nations General Assembly,” The White House, September 21, 2011.
Ibid.
Mark LeVine, “Here we go again: Egypt to Bahrain,” Al Jazeera English, February 18, 2011.
Interview with author, US Embassy, Manama, Bahrain, January 8, 1992.
Defense Security Cooperation Agency, News Release: Bahrain—M1152A1B2 HMMWVs and TOW-2A and TOW-2B Missiles, September 14, 2011.
Human Rights Watch, “US: Stop proposed arms sales to Bahrain,” September 22, 2011.
US Department of State, Special Briefing, Senior Administration Officials, Via Teleconference, May 11, 2012.
Ibid.
LeVine, “Here we go again.”
Cited in Josh Rogin, “Is the U.S. on the wrong side of history in Bahrain,” Foreign Policy , December 6, 2011.