INTRODUCTION:
Bahrain is an island constitutional monarchy strategically located in the Persian Gulf between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is the home base of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The Sunni royal family controls all of the key political positions in the government, causing recent calls from the Shia majority population to demand more political rights, particularly in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings in the region. Concerns over uprisings among its own Shia minority drove Saudi Arabia to send help to Bahrain to quash and control the pro-democracy protests that erupted in 2011. With Shia majority Iran to the east and Sunni majority Saudi Arabia to the west, Bahrain has become a small proxy ideological battleground. With limited oil and water reserves, Bahrain has incurred significant debt. Coupled with high unemployment among young Bahrainis, the ruling royal family will see continued social and political friction and pressure.