This thesis examines how the monarchial regime of the al-Khalifa dynasty of Bahrain has skillfully tailored the tools of statecraft, both in international diplomacy and domestic policy, for one primary objective: to restrain attempts for democratic reform in order to sustain the regime's wealth and power. The al-Khalifa regime has shaped statecraft policies into a unique set in order to limit democratic initiatives. The monarchy blurs the lines between at democratization as contrasted with taking a few steps toward liberalization in order to address the nation's continuing unrest. The regime exacerbates the Sunni-Shi`a divide by hiring Sunni foreigners to serve in the security forces and deliberately stokes sectarian conflict by blaming Iran for inciting the Shi`i population. The regime encourages the hiring of migrant workers, which benefits the monarchy's wealth and fosters competition for jobs between groups of workers; at the same time, the regime denies migrants steps toward citizenship. Through its foreign relations polices, the monarchy prudently balances its relationships with the United States and Saudi Arabia for the primary purpose of maintaining power. Unique circumstances, as revealed by Bahrain's history, have influenced the al-Khalifa's governance of the nation. These factors include: US military base on Bahrain's land, a Sunni minority ruling a Shi`i majority, a well-educated citizenry willing to protest for democratization and labor rights, dwindling oil resources, and a geopolitical position between two rival regional powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran. / History

This thesis is a study of the oldest Islamic chronological history still extant: the Tārīkh (‘Chronicle’) of the Basran ḥadīth scholar and historian Khalīfa b. Khayyāṭ al-ʿUṣfurī (d. 240/854), which covers the political and administrative history of the Muslim polity between year 1/622 and 232/847. Despite its early date, Khalīfa’s Tārīkh has received little attention in modern scholarship and its value for understanding the development of early Islamic historiography has generally been disregarded. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to reassess the Tārīkh by analysing both the text and its context of compilation. After outlining Khalīfa’s biography (Ch. 1) and his social and intellectual context (Ch. 2), the thesis examines different aspects of Khalīfa’s Tārīkh in comparison to the wider Islamic historical tradition: his sources (Ch. 3), methods (Ch. 4), arrangement of material (Ch. 5) and narrative treatment of key themes in the early tradition (Chs. 6–7). The thesis thereby provides an in-depth study of one of the earliest Muslim historians and his methods of compilation, which is important for both the study of Islamic historiography and the usage of such sources in historical scholarship on early Islam. It is argued that Khalīfa’s role as a ḥadīth scholar and his early Sunnī outlook is reflected throughout the content of the Tārīkh. This is particularly evident in Khalīfa’s selection of sources, which consist of mainly Basran transmitters including numerous major ḥadīth scholars, and in his narration of controversial events such as the early civil wars, which displays an early Sunnī perspective. It is also suggested that Khalīfa’s particular selection and arrangement of material was largely determined by his aim to compile a critical and concise chronology of the political and administrative history of the Muslim community. Moreover, the thesis shows that, while the Tārīkh differs from many other early histories, it bears some resemblance to other chronographies compiled by early ḥadīth scholars—such as the works of al-Fasawī (d. 277/890), Ibn Abī Khaythama (d. 279/892) and Abū Zurʿa al- Dimashqī (d. 282/895) as well as the sections on post-Prophetic history in some ḥadīth collections such as Ibn Abī Shayba’s (d. 235/849) Muṣannaf. By comparing Khalīfa’s Tārīkh with these works, the thesis draws attention to this type of historical writing among some early ḥadīth scholars, which has so far been neglected in modern studies on early Islamic historiography.

Includes bibliography. / One of the most significant and yet least studied developments of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Cape Town is the emergence and growth of a muslim community. So dramatic was this process, that by the end of the period of slavery, well over two thirds of the town's non-European population were considered to be members of this community. Yet this process has largely been regarded, in such studies as do exist, as one of only marginal significance to the unfolding pattern of struggles that characterise this turbulent and brutal period of Cape Town's history. This lack of serious research stems largely from the nature of prevailing conceptions, which have tended to characterise both Islam and the muslim community as ostensibly cultural phenomena; culture being defined in its narrowest sense. Denied its political and ideological significance, the process of Islamisation is reduced to the point where it is regarded only as a quaint and colourful anachronism, adding a touch of spice to the cosmopolitan nature of the town. This thesis, however, takes as its point of departure the rejection of the notion that the development of Islam in Cape Town can be meaningfully understood in these terms.

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.

Seagrass meadows offshore Ras Ghanada, as elsewhere, are an important component to the ecosystem providing numerous benefits to both aquatic and human life. This work focused on mapping the spatial and temporal distribution of seagrass meadows offshore Ras Ghanada using aerial photography acquired in 1996 and high-resolution satellite images captured in 2006 and 2012. The movements of sand shoals were also tracked, so as to further explain the dynamics of this ecosystem, as it is the area between the shoal crests that hosts the best developed seagrass meadows. The natural limiting factor for seagrass on the Ras Ghanada coastal shelf seems to be the fact that they cannot inhabit the (mobile) crests of the sand shoals, but rather, are restricted to the (more stable) sands of the shoal troughs. In the considered time period, both sand shoals and seagrass meadows migrated predominantly in a southeastern direction. The changes of seagrass that occurred in this study occurred on a fairly rapid timescale, in such that they were able to come back when there was disturbance as long as they had available habitat to move into. Furthermore, although seagrass cover declined by 3.4% from 1996 – 2012, there was a greater increase than decline in the areal coverage of seagrass post-Khalifa port construction in 2010. If sediments offshore Ras Ghanada can remain stable and the waters are not polluted by further construction, seagrasses should continue to thrive in the future.

Indépendant depuis 1971, le Qatar a longtemps fait partie des micro-États. Le pays a ensuite vécu une forme de révolution avec l’accession au pouvoir de Hamad ben Khalîfa al-Thânî en juin 1995. Le nouvel émir a alors entrepris une politique volontariste de reconnaissance internationale. Le périmètre de son action diplomatique s'est renforcés dans un contexte où l’augmentation de la rente pétrolière a permis à la famille royale de satisfaire les demandes sociales des nationaux. Comme de nombreux États du monde arabe, le régime qatarien devait se doter d’une légitimité prenant en partie appui sur le socle religieux. Cette formule de légitimité a trouvé une part de sa réponse dans la relation nouée avec Yûsuf al-Qaradhâwî.Figure majeure de la scène islamiste contemporaine, cet ouléma a mené une intense activité de prédication. Sa longue présence dans l’émirat lui a permis de tisser un lien particulier avec la dynastie au pouvoir. Souffrant d’un déficit en matière de légitimité religieuse, celle-ci a cherché à utiliser le charisme de l’ouléma au service d’un dessein politique. Se faisant, quels ont été les mécanismes de cette relation originale entre les deux partenaires ? En mobilisant plusieurs concepts de la sociologie politique comme la théorie des champs ou celui des transactions collusives, notre thèse expliquera comment cette interaction a pu produire un dispositif complexe où le Qatar a tiré profit du réservoir de légitimité dont Yûsuf al-Qaradhâwî était le récipiendaire tout en assurant à ce dernier un large périmètre de liberté lui permettant de mobiliser, au profit de l’émirat, ce que nous avons qualifié de « soft power islamique de complémentarité » / Independent since 1971, Qatar has been part of the micro-States. The country then experienced a form of a revolution with the accession to the power of Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani in June 1995. As a matter of fact, the new Emir undertook a determined policy, internationally recognized, ignoring Saudi Arabia’s role in the region. His diplomatic action was strengthened in a context in which the increase in the oil rent enabled the royal family to satisfy the social demands of the nationals. Like many states in the Muslim world, the Qatari regime had to acquire a legitimacy based on the religious foundation. A legitimacy that found its way into the relations forged with the Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradhawi. Major figure in the contemporary Islamist scene, the ulema has carried out an intense activity of preaching by impelling strong faith-based media coverage with a political aim. His long presence in the emirate allowed him to weave a particular link with the dynasty in power. Suffering from a religious legitimacy deficit, this latter sought to use the charism of the ulema to serve a political purpose whose aim was to diminish the Saudi cultural impact while embodying a competing social model. What were the mechanisms of this original relationship between the two partners? By utilizing several concepts of political sociology such as field theory or collusive transactions, our thesis will explain how this interaction produced a complex mechanism where Qatar exploited Yusuf al-Qaradhawi’s legitimate religious authority figure by enabling him to mobilize, for the benefit of the emirate, what we have called « Islamic soft power for complementary »