The future of Bahrain will to a large extent be determined beyond its shores. This seems to be taken for granted by most Bahrainis. Sandwiched between the regional powerhouses of Iran and Saudi Arabia, and with an important American base and a British colonial legacy thrown into the mix, Bahrainis are strongly aware of the role of forces outside their borders.

The role of probably the most important of these actors has recently been receiving increasing attention. Traditionally, the turf of the West, particularly the Americans and the British, has been completely written off by opposition activists, seen primarily as the safe terrain of the government.

Not so since the explosion of February 2011. The opposition has done a remarkable job of reaching out to international organizations in the West since then, including human rights groups, media, labor unions and academic institutions. Indeed, it seems that the only Western group the opposition has not yet been able to woo is Western governments themselves. Even these have been regularly meeting the opposition, often not even bothering to inform the government beforehand.

Two recent events have shone the spotlight and raised questions on the role of Western organizations in Bahrain. The first is the latest visit by Human Rights Watch to the island. The delegation was given access to prisons, including meeting the most high-profile political prisoners. Representatives of HRW took pictures of the prisoners and published them, the first time this has happened since their imprisonment two years ago. For added value, they then held a press conference locally, lambasting the government for the lack of meaningful reform.