Bahraini Activism in Exile: Legacies and Revolutionary Ruptures

Speaker: Claire Beaugrand, Institut Français du Proche Orient Discussant: Filippo Dionigi, LSE Middle East Centre Chair: John Chalcraft, LSE Bahrain has had a long history of exiling its opponents as a way to regulate political dissent. The 2011 political uprising in Bahrain marked a new phase in the history of Bahraini outmigration and exile politics. The brutal repression with which the protest movement was met (particularly from March to July 2011) led to a new wave of political exile, affecting a wider range of socio-economic categories. With most of the Arab countries, notably Syria, themselves in turmoil and Gulf countries having closed ranks behind the Bahraini government, the destinations of out-migrants also became more limited with the UK and Lebanon on the top of the list. This research examines the forms of opposition and advocacy that were built on previous exile experiences, focusing on a new generation of opponents that includes children of political exiles and long-time expatriates in Bahrain. This seminar forms part of the 'Social Movements and Popular Mobilisation in the MENA Research Theme'. Recorded on 3 June 2015. This seminar forms part of the 'Social Movements and Popular Mobilisation in the MENA Research Theme'. Image credit: humanrightstv.com. Bahraini human rights activists Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja (left) and Nabeel Rajab (right).