Saudi support underpins Bahrain’s hard-line attitude, adds to national dialogue doubts

In an unusual move, Sheikh Khalid, the 21-year-old fifth son of Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, has married Sahab Bint Abdullah, a daughter of the Saudi monarch. As with Saudi Arabia’s $400m grant to Sunni neighbour Jordan, announced on 2 June, the move demonstrates increased regional interconnectedness during a period when Bahrain’s stability – and the wider region’s future direction – is uncertain. The dynastic marriage is “a sign of the times,” Brookings Doha Center director Salman Shaikh told GSN. The Gulf states all have serious concerns about regional stability and this is reflected in signs of growing intra-Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) unity – bar ongoing bilateral spats between some neighbours.