ABSTRACT
This contribution studies the dynamic, but fragmented, political opposition in Bahrain under King Hamad, whose rich history dates back to the 1930s’ labour movements. It explores the relationship between the country’s opposition actors, their efforts at cross-ideological and cross-sectarian cooperation despite a history of ideological and strategic divisions inherited from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the ambivalent and evolving positions towards the regime adopted by some opposition forces in order to balance the contradictory necessities of securing political survival while resisting full legitimisation of (or even cooptation by) the regime. The key contention of this study is that King Hamad’s skilful efforts at undermining opposition unity, combined with the inability of the opposition itself to transcend historical rivalries and ideological differences, explain in large measure the difficulties the opposition has encountered in proposing an effective alternative voice to the incumbent regime. This study will pay special consideration to the 2011 uprising and to its long-term impact on the post-1999 regime-opposition relationship as well as the organisation of the opposition itself.
