External great-power pressure forced Bahrain’s opposition to self-limit its demands

Evidence

Overturning the monarchy and instituting a republic would be far too provocative to next-door powerhouse Saudi Arabia, the thinking went, so the left-of-center opposition had limited itself to calling for a democratic constitutional monarchy—the royal family would stay, but the people would be granted some basic rights. — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 251

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy rules a Shia majority it systematically privileges against — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 249; Great powers weaken rivals by backing their internal opposition parties; Great powers routinely fund internal opposition parties in rival states to weaken them — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 683 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• External great-power pressure pushed South Africa toward negotiated compromise #exemplifies (0.82) — Charles Tilly, Regimes and Repertoires, 586
• Great powers routinely fund internal opposition parties in rival states to weaken them #qualifies (0.74) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 683
• Great powers weaken rivals by backing their internal opposition parties #qualifies (0.72)