Thread by @marcowenjones

The Bahrain Royal Court report that the Prime Minister of #Bahrain, Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the longest serving Prime Minister in the world, has passed away bna.bh/.aspx?cms=q8Fm…

Since Bahrain's Independence in 1971, Khalifa bin Salman has been one of the key driver's of political developments in Bahrain. Regarded as intelligent, shrewd and competent, KbS was also a ruthless defender of the status quo in Bahrain. His influence really increased

post-Independence, especially in regards to internal security, where he advocated for the demise of Bahrain's National Assembly in 1975, and drove much of the repression of Bahrain's opposition movements, and especially the Shia population

Amongst many of his actions, he was responsible for ordering the deportations of Bahraini citizens to Iran in the 1980s, as well the mass arrest of Shia citizens. His importance in decision making explains a lot of the state responses to unrest in Bahrain - brutal and reactionary

He was an iconic figure of the ruling family, but his death will unlikely be mourned by many of Bahrain's opposition, who have long seen him as one of the chief architects of a repressive state. Despite his influence, his death won't likely have a huge impact on internal

affairs. Part of the reason for his political decisions was his general deference to Saudi Arabia, which still remains one of the key pressure points on defining internal politics in Bahrain.

Here is an excerpt from my book, Political Repression in Bahrain, highlighting an example of the Prime Minister's approach to security in the 1980s

Continued, exploring the PM's approach to mass arrests of political opposition

This excerpt highlights how the Prime Minister played a key role in ensuring the dissolution of the National Assembly in 1975. Although it was justified on 'security' grounds - there were none.

Here is a more recent example of his perceived role in enabling torture and unaccountability. "Bahrain’s prime minister thanks accused torturer for his service while telling loyalists they are above the law" marcowenjones.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/bah…