Bahrain

The Bahraini uprising, and its aftermath, has left profound rifts six years on, in political views, sectarian relations, and even geography. To address these negative social ramifications and bring in the voices of people often lost amid conflict and crises, Suhail Algosaibi established the Bahrain Foundation for Dialogue. BFD aims to create civil dialogue and...

Augustine of Hippo once remarked: “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” In the last few years, the Bahraini government has launched a multipronged strategy to ensure that the kingdom’s page is more frequently read by the world’s travelers. Can it succeed in a region riddled with...

The political news emanating from the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain has come fast and frequent this summer, with a series of actions taken by the courts, Parliament, and security forces effectively reshaping the formal political landscape of the country. These actions have dealt perhaps the final blow to the strategy set in the early...

Citizens of the Gulf’s leading parliamentary monarchies have access to a pressure point that other Gulf citizens do not: If the ruling family-led executive is refusing reforms or taking unilateral political actions, they may withhold their participation in elections. Yet this past month dramatically demonstrated the limited power of the political boycott, and the considerable...

This post is part of a series examining women’s labor force participation in the Gulf Arab states, including areas of growth and challenges facing women in the Gulf. The Gulf Arab states have made notable progress in recent years in reducing gender inequalities in education and labor force participation, however, women have not made the same gains...

As the Gulf states enter a new era of lower oil prices, Bahrain faces the most difficult test. It has the highest fiscal break-even price in the Gulf and unlike its wealthier neighbors, lacks the reserves to cover budget deficits for very long. Borrowing in the credit market likewise has become more difficult and expensive:...

The Youth Pioneer Society (YPS) is a non-profit organization in Bahrain founded by a group of young Bahrainis who met on Twitter in December 2011. Their aim is to elevate youth voices, increase career opportunities for youth, and support entrepreneurs. The group administers several training programs that cover everything from connecting youth to the Bahraini...

While international attention last week turned to the confirmation of the death penalty for former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, some high profile convictions were handed down in the Arab Gulf states as well. On June 16 the head of the most prominent opposition political society in Bahrain, Sheikh Ali Salman, was sentenced to four years...