 |
| Arabian oil fields |
Edited excerpt, added text
by Carolyn Bennett
by Carolyn Bennett
From American University professor Kristin Diwan’s commentary “The Failed
Revolution” presented at the March 31, 2011, Middle East Policy Council round table “Governance,
Human Rights and American Interests in Bahrain”
 |
| Persian Gulf - Major oil fields Britannica image |
PERSIAN GULF (Arabian Gulf)
A shallow marginal sea of the Indian Ocean that
Lies between the Arabian Peninsula and southwestern Iran
Bordered on the north, northeast and east by Iran;
On the southeast and south by part of Oman and by the United Arab Emirates;
On the southwest and west by Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia; and
On the northwest by Kuwait and Iraq
The term Persian Gulf sometimes refers not only to Persian Gulf proper but
Also to its outlets —
The Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, which open into the Arabian Sea
Inviting in GCC troops to Bahrain to crack down on protesters, the Al-Khalifa
regime subsumed protesters’ legitimate democratic demands within a vast Iranian
conspiracy and elevated the narrative to the international level, Dr. Diwan
writes.
The
Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG) or Cooperation
Council (GCC) is a political and economic union of the Arab states bordering
the Persian Gulf and constituting the Arabian Peninsula, namely Bahrain, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.
 |
| Arabian Peninsula and Sea |
“Unfortunately for Bahrain’s democracy movement,” she says, “the
Iranian threat [was] seen as plausible by many in the Sunni minority in Bahrain
and by the broader Sunni majority in the Gulf, particularly in the shadow of
the hardliner regime headed by Iranian President Ahmadinejad.
“… This outcome is bad for everyone involved.
“It is ultimately bad for Bahrain, which has lost all of the political
gains made in King Hamad’s reform period and may soon lose the economic gains
that accompanied them.
The parliament is effectively defunct having lost a near majority of its members who resigned in protest at the crackdown.
…The environment of intimidation and fear being created in Bahrain today is totally unsuitable for its key industries of tourism and finance which require openness and stability.
By relying on Saudi Arabia and the GCC for both military and financial support, the ruling al-Khalifa have sacrificed their hard fought independence and surrendered much of their sovereignty.”
King Hamad
bin Isa Al Khalifa, son of Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (1950 Crown Prince) and
Hessa bint Salman Al Khalifa, has been king of Bahrain since 2002. Before that,
he was Emir (commander, general, prince) after his father.
Hamad
studied at Cambridge in Britain then underwent military training, first with
the British Army at Mons Officer Cadet School at Aldershot in Hampshire (1968) then
at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth
in Kansas (1972).
“This outcome is bad for the Gulf
region, which desperately needs the creative engagement of its youth in
order to weather the current period of demographic growth,” Diwan says.
 |
| Island of Bahrain |
“… This outcome is bad for the
United States, whose interests lie in the reform of the Gulf monarchies,
with an eye to their long-term stability and to minimizing Iranian
transnational influence within the Gulf States. The best way to do this is to integrate
fully the Shia communities as citizens within genuinely constitutional
monarchies. …
“To better ensure their future, Gulf monarchies should be cooperating
on new institutions to effectively channel democratic aspirations — not
collaborating to suppress domestic dissent.
“Unfortunately, the current trend is in the opposite direction: Gulf
monarchies are amplifying sectarian divisions in order to resist moves towards
democratic reforms.
“… [T]he repercussion in reform
deferred and sectarianism unleashed may be as consequential for the Gulf
and as it is for America’s standing in the Gulf.”
|
| Arabian oil fields |
Sources and notes
“The Failed Revolution” (Kristin
Smith Diwan commentary), March 31, 2011, http://www.mepc.org/articles-commentary/commentary/failed-revolution
Excerpt from American University professor Kristin Diwan’s commentary “The
Failed Revolution” was presented at the March 31, 2011, Middle East Policy Council round
table “Governance, Human Rights and American Interests in Bahrain.”
Kristin Diwan
Coordinator for Middle East Studies, SIS-CRS, and Co-Director of MES@AU
Initiative, Dr. Diwan is a professor of Comparative and Regional
Studies in the School of International Service at American University in
Washington, D.C.
She holds regional expertise in the politics and policies of the Arab
Gulf, and functional expertise on Islamic finance and the politics surrounding
it. Her particular interests revolve around the political economy of Islamism— specifically,
how Islamic political movements build support and further social Islamization
through the economy. Dr. Diwan’s most recent project entails researching the
social and institutional origins of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Gulf region.
Work in progress includes a book about the rise of Islamic finance, entitled
From Petrodollars to Islamic Dollars: Islamic Finance in the Arab Gulf.
Dr. Diwan holds doctorate and master’s degrees in political science and international studies, http://www.american.edu/sis/faculty/diwan.cfm
Encyclopedic ref for added explanatory text
Maps Britannica
________________________________
Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire
________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment