Political Risk:
Critical
Score:
13.5/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
0/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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The available data indicates the National Assembly of Bahrain (comprising 80 members: 50% elected and 50% appointed as part of the Shura Council) has…
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Although there is a committee dedicated to defence and foreign relations, they do not debate defence policies, such as arms import, or defence procurement,…
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Bahrain is a kingdom where the Head of the State is King Hamad Bin Issa Al Khalifa, and he is the Chief Commander of…
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Q2
5/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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There is a Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee within the Shura Council. However, there is no evidence that this committee has any formal rights…
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The Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee has members who have expertise in the defence and military sector. The current head of the committee is…
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In the online Minutes of Meetings (MoMs), there is no reference to any review process concerning major defence policies in the last three years…
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The Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee have no power or capacity of oversight over the military and defence policies. There is no…
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According to interviewees, there is no long term oversight or scrutiny over defence policy by the Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee. Even…
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As there are no recommendations related to the defence sector, there is no way that recommendations can be incorporated within the ministry [1, 2,…
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Q3
0/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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Neither a defence policy or defence strategy is published, nor debated publicly. As sources confirmed through interviews, any details about security and defence are…
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As there are no public deliberations or debate on defence policy/strategy, this indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ [1, 2, 3].
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There have not been any formal or informal consultations or debate. Writers and civil society organization (CSO) activists are restricted and unable (through censoring)…
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There are no documents about defence strategy or the defence policies of Bahrain. Interviewees have stated that these policies and strategies (if they exist)…
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Q4
8/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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Civil society organizations (CSOs) in Bahrain suffer from threats of a crackdown on their work, and the state has the ability to enforce their…
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As outlined in 4A, the state has a monopoly on the entry and exit of CSOs in Bahrain [1, 2, 3]. There are very…
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There is no openness towards NGOs or CSOs in the country whatsoever. CSOs are not allowed by a de-facto informal law to question the…
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Q5
63/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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The Kingdom of Bahrain signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) convention in 2005 and ratified it in 2010 [1]. Bahrain is not…
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According to the UNCAC Review Report of Bahrain, two good practices are taking place in Bahrain: campaigns against corruption, and the establishment of an…
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Q6
13/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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Interviewees indicate that there is occasional debate, yet many are supportive of the government’s actions on issues of defence. Pro-government individuals, journalists or activists…
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Interviewees have stated there is no governmental engagement in the public debate with regards to any issues of defence. Defence discussions are considered confidential…
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Q7
50/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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According to our search and sources, there is not any anti-corruption policy dedicated only for the defence sector; however, there is an anti-corruption strategy…
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As there is no anti-corruption strategy for the defence sector in Bahrain, this indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ [1, 2, 3].
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Q8
0/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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There are no anti-corruption or ethics units within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) [1]. One source said there was an idea of establishing a…
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As outlined in 8A, no unit or institution has a mandate to build integrity and countering corruption in the MoD. As such, this indicator…
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As outlined in 8A, no unit or institution has a mandate to build integrity and countering corruption in the MoD. As such, this indicator…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. Since 2011, and the Shia uprising in Bahrain, the Royal Bahraini Army has been…
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Q10
0/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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Purportedly, there is a lack of assessment of corruption risk in general in Bahrain, which means there is no assessment risk in the defence…
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’, due to the fact that corruption risk assessments are not conducted [1, 2, 3]. The researcher conducted…
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’, due to the fact that corruption risk assessments are not conducted [1, 2, 3]. The researcher conducted…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
0/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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According to interviewees, there is no acquisition planning process for defence, as most significant purchases are made through the king’s office and his deputy.…
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As established in 11A, there is no acquisition planning process for defence. This indicator has therefore been marked ‘Not Applicable’ [1, 2, 3].
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As established in 11A, there is no acquisition planning process for defence. This indicator has therefore been marked ‘Not Applicable’ [1, 2, 3].
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Q12
13/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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There is information on the total sum of the defence budget (25% of petroleum production), but there are no further details on the lines…
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Based on information from the Majlis an-nuwab (Council of Representatives), there is no data available on the defence budget. The council receives no information…
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Q13
0/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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Q14
0/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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Based on interviews with a local journalist and a CSO member, as well as online searches and the reports of the budget, there is…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, as there is no data available publicly on the defence budget [1, 2].
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, as there is no data available publicly on the defence budget [1, 2].
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Q15
0/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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There is no information about the general defence budget outside the central government. Indeed the only source of money for the defence budget comes…
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There is no institutional scrutiny on non-central government sources of income. The king’s office is the only institution that can have such figures [1,…
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There is no public publication of non-central government sources of funding; there is no public scrutiny of non-central income for the defence budget [1,…
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Q16
8/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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There is a very limited internal audit that has the appropriate staff and personal to conduct transparent and appropriate reporting on defence expenditures. The…
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According to the available information, internal auditing is almost entirely absent, and there is no enabling of internal oversight and auditing functions. Reports are…
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There is no external scrutiny of the internal auditing unit [1, 2]. Extensive online and offline searches, as well as other resources, show there…
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There is not enough information available to score this indicator, as such it has been marked ‘Not Enough Information’. Either there are no reports…
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Q17
0/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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According to sources, there is no institute, either internal or external, which is responsible for the auditing of defence purchases and expenditure. The Office…
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ because, as explained in 17A, there are no external auditing bodies or policies. [1, 2]
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ because, as explained in 17A, there are no external auditing bodies or policies. [1, 2]
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ because, as explained in 17A, there are no external auditing bodies or policies. [1, 2]
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
15/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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Based on the available information, Bahrain’s defence sector receives 25% of the country’s wealth from natural resources [1]. Sources state the rentier country depends…
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The business activities of the defence sector (which is under the king’s control) is considered legal [1, 2]. However, there is no information about…
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According to interviewees, only loyalists and royal family members have the capacity and ability to run businesses and have a financial interest in Bahrain’s…
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There is interest from loyal figures and royal family members who work in the defence sector in the natural resources of Bahrain, and they…
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As the personnel are loyalists and royal family members, there is no scrutiny over these types of businesses. There is no legal framework to…
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Organised Crime
Q19
88/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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Interviewees and media searches show there is no evidence that there is organized crime or criminal groups in the Bahraini defence sector. Given the…
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The threat of organized crime penetration is low. According to interviews with military officers and a local journalist, there is an assumption that if…
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Q20
0/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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According to sources, there is no specialized unit within the military or any institute that have the authority to conduct investigations on crime and…
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as there is no relevant policing function [1, 2].
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as there is no relevant policing function [1, 2].
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
0/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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The newly established (2002) national security apparatus is the Bahrain Intelligence Agency [1, 2, 3, 4]. The king’s relatives mostly head it, and most…
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’, as there is no independent oversight over the intelligence policies and practices [1, 2, 3].
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Q22
0/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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The only significant criteria for senior staff appointments at the intelligence service is loyalty and being close to the King of Bahrain. There is…
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Senior intelligence staff are mostly awarded for loyalty to the king and Khalifa’s family. Meritocracy is not the primary factor in the appointments [1,…
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Appointments at the intelligence services are ambiguous and not disclosed to the public; even the parliament does not have that information. There is no…
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Export Controls
Q23
50/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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Bahrain signed the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in 2013, but has yet to ratify it [1].
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As the country has not ratified the ATT, this indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ [1].
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As the country is not a significant arms exporter, this indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ [1].
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Lobbying in Defence
Bahrain does not have a legal framework to regulate lobbying activities. Lobbying activities usually happen at the royal level by foreign politicians, not from…
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ because, as indicator 76A outlines, there is no legal framework to regulate lobbying activities in Bahrain. After…
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ because, as indicator 76A outlines, there is no legal framework to regulate lobbying activities in Bahrain. After…
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This indicator has been marked ‘Not Applicable’ because, as indicator 76A outlines, there is no legal framework to regulate lobbying activities in Bahrain. After…
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