Bahrain's Decade of Development

Democracy, Human Rights & Social Change

The ambitious, comprehensive reform and development programme inaugurated by King Hamad soon after assuming office on the 6th of March 1999 was not only a pioneering project in a changing world, but also may be viewed as a model for other emerging democracies with similar circumstances, conditions, and human and economic capabilities. Despite being faced by numerous internal challenges such as limited natural resources and space, compounded by a high population density and external challenges that were no less complex, the Kingdom has been able to establish a welfare state capable of embracing the economic and social well-being of human beings and safeguarding their political and civil liberties, in addition to a national vision which regards the nurturing of Bahraini cultural identity and investment in humanity as the focus of development.

Parliamentary Democracy in a Constitutional Monarchy

The Bahrain Experience

This thesis evaluates the performance of the Bahraini National Assembly in the first and second legislative terms, and presents a future perspective on the beginning of the third one. The various political reforms in Bahrain have occurred in the light of democratic shifts throughout the world. In this sense the establishment of a Bahraini Parliament has become the main focus for democratic reforms in the country. Free and fair elections will allow the citizens of Bahrain to express their interests and aspirations.

Oman in the British Documents 1980

(Political, Economic & Military Files)

These 860 FCO documents, divided into 24 files of 1852 pages, shed light on all sides of the Omani scene politically, economically, and militarily, and focus on the external relations of the Sultanate and its tendencies given the new developments in the region including; the Iran – Iraq conflict, the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, and the 1979 Islamic Revolution within Iran.

Regarding internal affairs, the documents evaluate the performance of Sultan Qaboos, as well as gauging the impact of internal factors on the stability of his regime, and whether they presented a more significant threat to it than events at a regional level. Accordingly, the documents focus on the cross-ethnic relations between immigrant and indigenous communities, high-level corruption and rural development programmes. They make it clear that despite the concurrent instability throughout the Gulf, relatively little is reported of a religious threat to the Sultanate, particularly given Iran’s Islamic Revolution and its burgeoning attempts to export it.