The period between 1953 and 1957 saw Bahrain at the zenith of the political struggle between Sir Charles Belgrave, the British Adviser to the Government of Bahrain appointed by the Ruler, and the local nationalist movement. The Adviser had exercised considerable influence and had managed various facets of government administration since his arrival in 1926. The Movement sought to limit Belgrave’s authority through a set of demands for reform. These demands were to develop into a call for his dismissal. The Movement arose during the time that nationalism regionally (and in particular its Egyptian brand) was on the rise in the Arab World. This era was also marked by an awakening of the Soviet Union’s interest in the Middle East and its resources as it established a foothold in the region through Egypt. The conflict in Bahrain represented a model of the global events of the Cold War as it threatened the cohesiveness of the Baghdad Pact and was among a series of events that fed into Britain’s road to the 1956 Suez War. This thesis offers insight into the political struggle as it traces the development of the nationalist movement; the major drives that steered it, particularly that of nationalism in Egypt; the role of the Adviser and whether his actions facilitated British policy or affected it negatively. It also explores British policy which sought to strike a balance between the Ruler, who wished to retain his Adviser, and the nationalists while preserving British interest in the region.

This study examines the political life of Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmad al-Fatih Al Khalifa, the fifth ruler of the Al Khalifa dynasty and the third of that family to rule Bahrain. It is a political biography, examining the tactics used by Shaikh Abdullah and his family to fend off threats from various foes. Those tactics ranged from direct military combat, to entry into temporary protector-protégé relationships, to playing off one foe against another. His ability to employ such tactics effectively enabled him and his family to neutralize or defeat their foes. This study examines local statecraft tactics through the case study of one of the Gulf’s greatest nineteenth century statesmen. It also looks at the reasons that resulted in Shaikh Abdullah’s political downfall. Those reasons were domestic and external factors that the Shaikh seems to have either ignored or been unable to fully address. That inability and/or shortcoming in addressing those factors would have cost any Gulf ruler his rulership, not just Shaikh Abdullah, as similar aspects prevailed in the other Gulf shaikhdoms. The study examines the life of a political leader whose achievements have been played down, even neglected, by most modern historians in Bahrain and the Gulf. The reason for this neglect lies perhaps in the natural desire of the current ruling branch of the Al Khalifa family to discourage any potential future claim to the throne by the descendants of Shaikh Abdullah, who have lived in exile from Bahrain ever since Shaikh Abdullah’s overthrow in 1843.