Deconstructing Minorities/Majorities in Parliamentary Gulf States (Kuwait and Bahrain)

Abstract

The notion of ‘minority’ has traditionally been understood as an ethnic or religious category based on primary identity markers, and as such only makes sense relative to a broader polity. On closer examination, however, the case of the smaller Gulf states illustrates the constructed nature of the minority/majority dialectic. In these societies, with mixed populations and transnational foundations—, monarchic regimes have historically asserted themselves by promoting some groups over others to secure their loyalty.

This is particularly true in the parliamentary regimes of Kuwait and Bahrain. This article contends that while the ethno-religious understanding of ‘minority’ makes little heuristic sense in these two countries, the minority/majority dialectic is part of a political praxis used to garner support for the regime and by manufacturing ‘minorities’ to evade the principle of majority rule. The article traces the post-2011 responses by the Kuwaiti and Bahraini regimes to the rise of an oppositional majority. For Kuwait, it analyses the emphasis placed on the nation’s unity and the discrediting of the Bedouin’s political claims for Bahrain, it looks at how the authorities stressed the nation’s multicultural character to undermine the representativeness of the dominant Shiite political movement. Both strategies are designed to deflect the threat of power sharing.