The world's enduring dictators: Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, Bahrain

Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, king of Bahrain, in March of 2011

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This is an installment in the WorldWatch series, "The world's enduring dictators," inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, in which CBSNews.com takes a look at the men who continue to rule their lands unimpeded by law. See a complete explanation of the series and a list of others profiled here.

Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, Bahrain

Length of rule: 12 years. Hamad became Emir of Bahrain in 1999 upon the death of his father, Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and declared himself king in 2002. The country has been run by the al-Khalifa dynasty since 1783, and they hold unmatched political power to this day.

Feature page: The world's enduring dictators

Most despotic acts: While Bahrain is often cited as one of the most progressive Middle Eastern countries, uprisings in the late 1990s as well as right now have been fueled as much by resentment from the repressed, poor Shiite majority against their privileged Sunni rulers as anything else. In both uprisings, accusations against the government of gross human rights violations and protester murders have been plentiful. At least 11 demonstrators have been killed so far this year. Most recently, Bahraini security forces stand accused of indiscriminate abduction and torture of dissidents.

Outlook for change: The current protests in Bahrain stand in danger of descending into a regional proxy war, largely between the Sunni from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, and the Shiites from Iran, Syria and Lebanon. King Hamad stands on uneven ground, but has massive oil revenues - and friends nearby with even bigger purses - to help prop his regime up. Still, dissatisfaction in the country is high, as just after the king lifted martial law at the beginning of June, protesters quickly regrouped and began demonstrating again. King Hamad continues to pay lip service to political reforms, but their implementation is far from certain.

Bahrain stats:

Population: 1,214,705; Bahraini 62.4 percent, non-Bahraini 37.6 percent; Median Age is 31.

Constitution and the Rule of Law: Constitutional monarchy; everyday law based on Islamic law and English common law.

Economic Indicators: Overall GDP is $29.8 billion (world rank is 23); Per capita GDP is $40,400 (world rank is 19); unemployment rate of 15 percent (world rank is 149).

Press freedom index world rank: 144

[mohd-face]

This is absolutely hilarious... I have a few points that needs to be raised:

1- "poor Shiite majority" --- where the hell did you get your information from?

2- did you see the first comment from Bahraini62? its obvious that he mentions that they are awaiting aid from Iran and Hezballah. so, lets imagine that there are people who are want to destroy the american system for some foreign country, how will the US respond?

3- Ask any Shiite in Iran if they get 10% of the benefits that most shiites get in Bahrain

4- King Hamad has done a lot to the Shiites and I dare anybody that can deny it.

5- Human rights communities cannot be trusted due to the fact that all of the members who represent Bahrain's case are Shiite, where are the Sunnis?

6- Bahrain led by Al-Khalifa family has been one of america's allies for a long time, why the US is attacking Bahrain right now? is there a hidden agenda between the US and Iran??

[Essa235]

Excuse me but what exactly made you call the king of Bahrain a "dictator" ? Is it because the ruling system in Bahrain is different then that of the United States? I'm not sure if you are aware of this but there are many countries across the globe that are ruled by kings and queens, the United Kingdom being the most obvious one.
Even if Bahrain's population is composed of a Shiite majority, they do not exceed 60% of the total population, so would you please stop suggesting that the entire population of Bahrain is Shiite and the only Sunnis living on the Kingdom island are the royal family and their "goons".
And one last thing, do you even know what the demands of the "peaceful" protesters are? let me just mention 2 to you here:
1- The closure of the U.S naval base in which the U.S fifth fleet is stationed (the largest U.S naval base in the Arabian Gulf).
2- As soon as Bahrain is "liberated" they intend to go to war with Israel to liberate Palestine!.
As you can see, we are dealing with crazy people over here.

[Bahraini62]

Thank you Joshua for your support. We will prevail and rest assure that democracy and peace will prevail soon in Bahrain. We will get all necessary support from our leaders in Iran and Hezballah. We will do everything to clean up the Middle East and get rid of our enemies. We will be the next super power in the world and we'll concur the nations with the Nuke.