SFS-Q Alumna Presents Research on Sunni-Shia Bahraini Relations Post Bahraini Uprising

Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Q) alumna Maryam Alsada, recently gave a presentation on her findings to the research question: “How have Sunni Bahraini’s social relations with Shia Bahrainis changed after the Bahraini Uprising?” The research was based on Alsada’s MSc thesis submitted to the School of Public Policy at University College London.

Providing an introduction to her findings at the beginning of the presentation, Alsada said that her study was aimed at unraveling the complex relationship between society and politics which can be categorized under the header of contextual political science, as it does not treat society and polity as two independent identities. “Rather, I recognize the influence that society and politics have on each other,” she said.

Further explaining the results of her study, Alsada noted that her research considered the role that social memory has on individuals giving testimonies about the past. “Although less than three years had passed after the Bahraini uprising, there have been many domestic and regional political developments that may influence how Sunni Bahrainis remember the uprising and, as a result, how they remember immediate changes in their interactions with Shia Bahrainis. These developments could also have a direct influence on the relations between Sunni and Shia Bahrainis, as they can lead to increased sympathy or increased prejudice, making it difficult to ascertain if specific changes in the social network were due to the uprising itself or due to other stimuli,” she explained.

Across four research sites (of varying levels of Sunni homogeneity and wealth, to control for those factors), Alsada talked to 169 people in fifty-nine individual interviews and eighteen focus groups.

“These interviews and focus groups demonstrated two predominant patterns. Firstly, friendships between Sunni and Shia Bahrainis were maintained, while acquaintanceships between Sunni and Shia Bahrainis became tense and formal. The Sunni Bahraini social narrative of mistrust explains this occurrence. Secondly, competing social institutions have led to doublethink within the Sunni Bahraini community. The dual ideas that Shia Bahrainis are a threat to Sunni Bahrainis’ safety and that Shia Bahrainis are Sunni Bahrainis’ brothers in the Bahraini nation are both held to be true,” Alsada concluded.

Alsada credited her Georgetown education for providing her with a strong introduction to academic research and writing through a diverse core curriculum such as history, economics, English literature, theology and philosophy, in addition to her undergraduate major, which has helped her prepare for this project.