Shi'i Opposition and Authoritarian Transition in Contemporary Bahrain: The Shifting Political Participation of a Marginalised Majority

Abstract

This thesis considers the impact of Bahrain’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising on the political participation of the country’s Shiʿi community, a ‘marginalised majority’ whose engagement has historically shifted in response to cycles of repression and liberalisation manifest within the political system. With a particular focus on the most recent cycle of contention in Bahrain, this thesis makes the case that the ‘National Action Charter’ decade of 2000-2010 effectively transformed Bahrain into a liberalised autocracy, during which the regime exploited divisions between tolerated and antisystem opposition groups to maintain its grip on power whilst promoting its democratising credentials. Drawing on..