SUMMARY

The Kingdom of Bahrain has its roots in the 18th century when the Al-Khalifa family captured the island from the Persians and founded the new state of Bahrain. Since then, the Al-Khalifa family has ruled Bahrain, with members of the family occupying the most vital positions in both the government and the military. Effectively under British rule as a Protectorate between 1820 and 1971, Bahrain gained its full independence upon the British withdrawal from the Persian Gulf. Ratifying a new constitution, the Bahraini men (women were not allowed to vote) elected National Assembly to balance the ruling family. The assembly and the King, however, had quarrels on several issues from foreign policy, the US naval presence (since 1971 the US Navy has had a base near the capital) and the budget. The largest controversy came with the ratifying of the State Security Law that granted a wide range of powers to the Al-Khalifa family, such as being able to jail any person for three years any person without trial for crimes related to state security. When the National Assembly refused to ratify the law, the King responded with dissolving the Assembly and ratifying the law by himself, leading to a period of severe human rights violations and torture, the law was abolished in 2001.

The Al-Khalifa family is Sunni Muslim and it has always had a strained relationship with the Shia Muslim majority of the population.

The current King and head of state since 1999 is Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa. The Prime Minister and head of government is the Kings uncle, Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa. He was appointed by his brother, the Kings father and predecessor, in 1971.

The government of Bahrain has been involved in the one-sided category of UCDP organised violence.