Challenges for National Dialogue in the Post-Arab Spring Era: The Case of Bahrain

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  • WATANABE Shun
    Ritsumeikan　Asia-Japan Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, University of Oxford

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The “Pearl Spring”, the mass protest movement which occurred in Bahrain in 2011, gathered a lot of attention amid the wave of the Arab Spring. However, this protest movement was repressed and the monarchy held onto its rule. What has happened to the country since then? The existing literature has shown that Bahraini politics after the 2011 uprising have been characterized by strengthened authoritarian rule and deepening social divisions. Against this background, this article examines formal and informal, royal-led and society-led attempts for national reconciliation. Though sincere efforts to bridge these social divisions have been made, their success has been limited. This article illustrates that a lack of mutual trust or consensus on the form of governance has led to this limited success. Furthermore, examination of the situation of youth societies also reveals the influence of the rules of the game exerted on the civilian society. To overcome such a dilemma, there was a call for national consensus on the Bahraini constitution, but divisions among the society as a whole, as well as among the ruling family and the opposition, have cast a shadow over national reconciliation.

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