Bahrain | Council on Foreign Relations

Bahrain

Can Bahrain Be Saved?

Yesterday the government of Bahrain condemned a leading human rights activist, Nabeel Rajab, to five years in prison. His crime: tweeting. Rajab has been in and out of prison for years for such “c…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams February 21, 2018 Pressure Points
Middle East and North Africa

The Crime of Writing to The New York Times

You might think that publishing a letter to the editor in The New York Times cannot possibly be a crime. But you probably don’t live in Bahrain. Nabeel Rajab has been in prison since June in Bahra…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams September 13, 2016 Pressure Points
Iran

Weekend Reading: Between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain’s Illusions, and Egypt’s Brexit

Reading selections for the weekend of June 24, 2016.

Blog Post by Steven A. Cook June 24, 2016 From the Potomac to the Euphrates

Middle East and North Africa

Bahrain Slips Further into Repression

The Project on Middle East Democracy sums up the week in Bahrain: First, "A Bahraini court ordered the suspension of all activities by al-Wefaq, the island-nation’s largest opposition party. The J…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams June 18, 2016 Pressure Points
Human Rights

“Closing that Internet Up”: The Rise of Cyber Repression

Brandon Valeriano is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, and author of Cyber War versus Cyber Realities on Oxford University Press. Allison Pytlak is a policy and advocacy specialist at C…

Blog Post by Guest Blogger for Net Politics January 13, 2016 Net Politics
Syria

The Middle East Is in for a Tumultuous 2016

This article was originally published here on Fortune.com on Wednesday, January 6, 2016. Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic ties with Iran after authorities executed a popular…

Blog Post by Robert M. Danin January 6, 2016 Middle East Matters
Middle East and North Africa

Guess Who’s Coming to (the GCC) Dinner?

On May 13 and 14, President Obama will be hosting a summit meeting with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation. The members nations are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar. The prob…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams May 8, 2015 Pressure Points
Middle East and North Africa

Bahrain: "Insulting a Public Institution" Means Prison

Americans who complain about the post office, or more seriously the police, or (God forbid) whoever happens to be president do not expect to be jailed, but Bahrainis do. This week a leader of the (p…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams January 21, 2015 Pressure Points
Saudi Arabia

Weekend Reading: After Sultan Qaboos, Bahrain Goes To The Polls, and Saudi Arabia’s Elites

Georgia Travers considers the implications of rumors about Sultan Qaboos’ health on Omani political society. Faten Bushehri assesses the state of Bahrain on the eve of its parliamentary elections. …

Blog Post by Steven A. Cook November 22, 2014 From the Potomac to the Euphrates
Middle East and North Africa

Bahrain: Jail for Insulting the Ministry of Interior

A number of states still imprison people for offending the head of state. When Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was president of Egypt, he did it all the time. As I’ve written here before, Ba…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams October 3, 2014 Pressure Points
Saudi Arabia

How Personal Politics Drive Conflict in the Gulf

David Roberts, lecturer in the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London, based at the Joaan Bin Jassim Staff College in Qatar, offers expert insight into the recent tensions among the majo…

Blog Post by Guest Blogger for Steven A. Cook May 6, 2014 From the Potomac to the Euphrates
Middle East and North Africa

GCC Nations: Protections and Risks

With the exception of Yemen, the member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council range from prosperous to extremely rich—but they are also vulnerable to security threats from terrorists and from Iran…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams April 15, 2014 Pressure Points
Iran

Iran Continues Subversion Despite the Nuclear Negotiations

The Obama administration is fighting strongly to prevent Congress from adopting new sanctions legislation that would go into effect one year from now if, and only if, the nuclear negotiations fail or…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams January 3, 2014 Pressure Points
Human Rights

Bahrain: Insulting the King Means Jail

During his brief period as Egypt’s president, Mohamed Morsi sought to suppress criticism by prosecuting citizens for the "crime" of "insulting the president." In fact he prosecuted more cases than al…

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams December 30, 2013 Pressure Points
Egypt

Voices From the Region: Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Bahrain

“Obama will strike for the people...The regime also are fighting for the people, and the opposition is fighting for the people. And the people are damned.” –Abdelkader, a municipal employee from Raqq…

Blog Post by Robert M. Danin September 6, 2013 Middle East Matters