IV.  POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT

Bilteral Relationship with the United States

The U.S. has traditionally enjoyed warm relations with Bahrain, even during
periods of strained or broken relations between the U.S. and many other Arab
countries.  The U.S. Navy's operations in the Central Command area (the Gulf,
the Western Indian Ocean, and Red Sea) have centered on Bahrain since 1949.


Arab Boycott

As a member of the Arab League, Bahrain is committed to enforcement of the
League's boycott of Israel; however, in recognition of the greatly-changed
situation between Israel and the Palestinians, Bahrain has moved rapidly in
recent years to reduce  enforcement of the secondary and tertiary aspects of
the boycott, the aspects that affect U.S. firms. Various entities in Bahrain
continue to make boycott requests in commercial documents which place U.S.
firms in the position of having to act affirmatively to stay within the
requirement of U.S. law.  In many instances, these terms will be deleted or
disregarded to enable exporters to transact business.  Advice on boycott and
antiboycott related matters is available from the U.S. Embassy in Manama or
from the Office of Antiboycott Compliance in Washington at (202) 482-2381.


Political System

Bahrain is governed as a hereditary emirate, under the Al-Khalifa family,
which has ruled the country for approximately two hundred years.  The current
Amir, Shaikh Isa bin Sulman Al-Khalifa, in office since 1961, governs Bahrain
with the assistance of his brother, the Prime Minister; his son, the Crown
Prince; and an appointed Cabinet of Ministers.  In 1975, the government
suspended some provisions of Bahrain's 1973 Constitution, including those
articles relating to the National Assembly, which the government disbanded in
the same year.  The Consultative Council (Majlis Al-Shura), which was
established in 1993, is wholly appointive.  There are no political parties,
and no elections for government positions.