The Bahraini challenge

The debacle in Bahrain cuts close to the British bone. The Ministry of Defence has helped train at least 100 Bahraini officers and supplied a range of equipment to the Gulf state. Egypt was important because of its regional role and ties to the United States. But there was no link to London, anymore than there was one to Paris or Berlin. Bahrain is different.

Only a few months ago, British officials were applauding the Khalifa dynasty for taking steps towards democracy. But the fact is simple: the steps were insufficient – not by British standards, but by Bahraini ones. It should serve as a wake-up call to the Foreign Office and those in government with close ties to Bahrain.

After an unsure start, Foreign Secretary William Hague has had an excellent revolution with his Middle East tour a great move. He should now follow-up his visits by ordering a closed-door,  pan-regional review of UK ties to every country described be Freedom House as “partially free” or less. What reforms, the review should ask, would the UK recommend governments to undertake – and what can we offer, or take away, to motivate the necessary change?

Democracy-promotion can never be the only guide to Britain’s foreign policy. Even using the term in public can be counter-productive. Each country has its own path to modernisation. And, as we know from World Bank research, the journey can be rocky. But behind-the-scenes Britain must take care it does not become enamoured with authoritarian leaders who claim that they are reforming as much and as quickly as they can – or, even worse, that somehow their people aren’t ready for democracy.

The UK, from the FCO to DfID, must help allies and friends in the Middle East invest in the infrastructure of democracy – legislatures, NGOs, the press, moderate parties – much as they did in Europe in 1989 when only Czechoslovakia had had any experience with democracy. If we do not, this may mean a long-term British relationship with deposed leaders living in Saudi Arabia, but a poor one with new governments across the region.