Of all the Arab uprisings that have seen citizens challenge or change{ }their government, and forced foreign governments to navigate the{ }delicate path of possible intervention into a sovereign state’s affairs,{ }the situation in Bahrain has always struck me as the most complex. That{ }is probably why it is not discussed very much in global media, or{ }possibly in the corridors of power also.

The facts in Bahrain are relatively clear. A majority of citizens{ }feels it is not treated equally by the minority that rules the kingdom,{ }where power is exercised mostly by the royal family and various security{ }and military services. The ruling minority makes some concessions to{ }the majority, but not enough to quieten things down. The fact that the{ }majority that feels mistreated and shortchanged is Shiite and that the{ }ruling minority is Sunni is relevant in some ways – it makes Bahrain a{ }proxy battle in the larger Saudi Arabian-Iranian confrontation, for{ }example. However, it is irrelevant in others, because in most Arab{ }countries a minority of some sort has wielded disproportionate power{ }over the majority of citizens.

It is easy and convenient to speak of Bahrain as a Sunni-Shiite{ }conflict, or of Syria as a problem of a the ruling Alawite minority. For{ }me, such explanations miss the main point, which is that the common{ }Arab governance problem is not ethnicity, or sect-specific; it is more{ }about the fact that the rights of all citizens have been curtailed or{ }denied, whether this takes place in Syria, Bahrain, Sudan, Iraq under{ }the Baathists, or in any other modern Arab state.

This is why I tend to downplay the Sunni-Shiite dichotomy that is so{ }commonly invoked, and instead see it as a classic case of abuse of{ }power by an Arab ruling elite that is not credibly held accountable to a{ }majority of its citizens. Bahrain strikes me as the most complex of the{ }Arab uprisings in terms of how to resolve the increasingly polarized{ }domestic conflict, and how to deal with foreign intervention – in this{ }case, Arab intervention.

Bahrain is important, therefore, not only for the sake of its own{ }citizens and their rights, and for stability in the midst of an{ }energy-producing region that is vital for the entire world. It is also{ }the major example that is invoked when people accuse foreign countries{ }of double-standards in responding to the Arab uprisings.

The charge is often made that foreign governments that support the{ }citizen revolts across the Arab world by their inaction support the{ }government in Bahrain rather than the equal rights of its citizens.{ }Bahrain is also the clearest case of external military and political{ }intervention, in this case through the military force sent into the{ }kingdom last year by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council{ }countries – legitimately, according to GCC agreements.

Bahrain also highlights the awkwardness among other Arab parties,{ }such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, which supports the uprising in Bahrain but{ }also supports the Syrian government as it tries to put down a similar{ }uprising in Syria. So, if you are interested in double-standards and{ }hypocrisy in the conduct of foreign policy, Bahrain is the great litmus{ }test that causes so many Arabs and foreign powers to stutter or avert{ }direct eye contact.

In the 14 months since protests erupted in Bahrain, initial demands{ }for reasonable constitutional reform have become more strident, with a{ }few protesters even calling for the fall of the monarchy. This repeats a{ }similar pattern elsewhere, where initial demands for more citizen{ }rights were met with heavy-handed government security responses, which{ }in turn hardened the resolve of demonstrators and expanded the pool of{ }angry citizens. As street protests have turned into recurring small{ }battles with government security forces, and political dialogue{ }opportunities continue to dwindle, the Saudi-led military intervention{ }has effectively turned Bahrain into a semiofficial province, or at least{ }a political protectorate, of Saudi Arabia.

Not many people around the world seem to complain about Bahrain’s{ }altered sovereignty, mainly because nobody wants to risk greater{ }instability in the heart of this global energy source – a short-sighted{ }and mistaken view, in my mind, as current government responses are{ }likely to harden protester attitudes and stoke greater instability in{ }future, if current trends persist. Bahrain is the most dramatic example{ }of citizens in an Arab Gulf energy-producing state agitating for greater{ }political rights, in a much more robust manner than has been the case{ }in Oman, Kuwait and some corners of Saudi Arabia.

How this issue is resolved will have an enormous impact on{ }developments in other GCC countries, though for now there seems to be no{ }other strategy than cementing Bahrain’s altered status as a ward of{ }Saudi Arabia and the GCC. Among other things, this clarifies in a{ }dramatic manner just how brittle sovereignty really is around the Arab{ }world.