Bahrain Archives - Arab Digest

On the road to nowhere: a pickup truck crowded with Bidoon families travels toward Jahra and Salmi—the historic epicentre of Kuwait’s long-standing stateless community, whose disenfranchisement is now mirrored by tens of thousands of newly denaturalised citizens.

Stateless by decree: Kuwait’s mass denaturalisation campaign

Summary: Kuwait’s amir has ruthlessly pursued a policy of mass citizenship stripping with tens of thousands denaturalised and with a dissolved parliament and a climate of fear leaving no recourse for those affected.

October 16, 2026

The words "The Qatari Embassy in Israel" projected onto Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv—a visual protest against Netanyahu's long-standing, state-sanctioned backchannel dealings with Doha.

Qatargate and Washington

Summary: much has been made of Qatar’s relationship with both Hamas and the Netanyahu government as a sinister plot; a Washington insider says the reality is far more mundane.

October 12, 2026

Saudi Arabia’s military defeat in Yemen has global consequences

Summary: a failed Saudi-backed ground offensive enabled Huthi forces to capture critical Red Sea territory, seize Western weaponry and severely disrupt global energy markets.

September 21, 2026

A photo from the 2023 Beijing summit that captured the beginning of the end for Washington's exclusive grip on Gulf security arrangements.

Dateline 10 September 2028

Summary: our contributor leaps ahead two years to 10 September 2028 - just ahead of the US presidential election - to project the trend line of current events in the Gulf and the US onto a future history of the region and the world.

September 10, 2026

The people of Bahrain - majority Shia, ruled by a Sunni dictatorship propped up by Washington - are in the streets marching for Khamenei

Religious restrictions in Bahrain reveal sectarian tensions, regional power struggles

Summary: with the Iran war continuing, Bahrain’s majority Shi’a population finds itself under siege, facing further repression and religious restrictions from a regime that sees it as a security threat.

September 8, 2026

Arab Digest top five podcast countdown: #2 The Gulf and three mad countries

Summary: a top GCC analyst lays bare the blunders and the security crisis the Iran war has provoked in the Gulf states.

August 19, 2026

Arab Digest top five podcast countdown: #3 How hard has the war hit GCC economies?

Summary: the GCC is on the frontline of the Iran war making the economies of the six states vulnerable to events they are deeply affected by but have a limited say in influencing.

August 12, 2026

How Sheikh Hamad Transformed Qatar into a Geopolitical Juggernaut

Summary: Qatar’s former "Father Emir," Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has died aged 74. During his life he oversaw the transformation of his nation from a regional backwater into a global economic and geopolitical power through natural gas development, bold foreign policy, and soft-power milestones like Al Jazeera and the 2022 World Cup.

July 30, 2026

Saudi And Soccer: Time For Second Thoughts

Summary: although the expansion of this year’s World Cup finals to 48 countries proved to be a success, advantages specific to its three host nations simply do not apply to Saudi Arabia’s solo hosting of the 2034 tournament even if FIFA rejects proposals to expand again to 64 participants.

July 23, 2026

The 'Gates of Hell' open both ways: US forces mourn their fallen while Washington prepares to double down on an unwinnable regional escalation.

The slide toward a regional cataclysm

Summary: following the killings of US service members in Jordan and Iraq, a major military escalation between the United States and Iran has collapsed their previous ceasefire agreement, threatening to spark a comprehensive, multi-front war that could devastatingly target civilian infrastructure and choke global energy supplies.

July 21, 2026

An Iranian newspaper with a front page photo of the Bahraini dictator King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and others, along with the words of the Leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolution: "The inevitable revenge against the criminals."

Ashura Protests and Arrests Reflect Bahrain’s Damaged Civil Peace

Summary: as the war in Iran again heats up the repression of Bahrain’s majority Shi’a community has intensified.

July 13, 2026

Mass Kidnappings Reflect Sectarian Tensions, Gender Inequality in Post-War Syria

Summary: in the new Syria women and girls face a surge in violence against them with the Alawite sect being particularly vulnerable.

June 18, 2026

Bahrain

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