Kasbarian, Sossie and Mabon, Simon Paul (2017) Contested spaces and sectarian narratives in post : uprising Bahrain. Global Discourse, 6 (4). pp. 677-696. ISSN 2326-9995
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Abstract
In early February 2011, people took to the streets of Manama, Bahrain, protesting against the political system of the Al Khalifa monarchy. Although initially occurring along non-sectarian lines, the protests were quickly framed as such and, as a consequence, the nature of the protests changed. This article engages with this process of sectarianism, exploring how space became contested and how such sites took on political – and sectarian – meanings. In the article, we argue that by framing the protests in such a way, the Al Khalifa regime was able to create a master narrative that impacted upon all facets of Bahraini society, at home and abroad.