16th Jul, 2013 –
The four stages of a consumer product’s life cycle are: 1- introduction to market, 2- growth, 3- maturation and, finally 4- decline.
When a product begins to decline, it is not uncommon for suppliers to attempt a new approach. Rebranding is a tactic that often succeeds in briefly reinvigorating demand for the same product before it eventually dies out for good.
Two and half years of failure from the Bahraini opposition has now forced them to rebrand. On July 4th, a statement was circulated by the opposition calling for a “Bahrain rebellion” on August 14th, taking after Egypt’s “Tamarod” movement, which contributed significantly to the ouster of President Morsi.
By imitating a successful political movement, the opposition believes it will inherit Egypt’s success. A new theme, a new date, and revised rhetoric will provide the opposition with hope of reviving the revolution in Bahrain, as well as gaining more foreign support.
However, rebranding the Bahrain uprising indicates that the opposition is losing ground. They have acknowledged that previous efforts at ousting the government have thus far amounted to failure and that achieving their goal will require a new strategy.
Political branding is not at all a new concept. Electoral candidates have long used political branding as a strategy to gain popularity and avoid stagnation of their campaigns. Liberals often rebrand themselves as conservatives – and vice versa – depending on the target demographic.
Activists often rebrand themselves as well, taking the human rights approach to gain sympathy and credibility. Anti-abortion activists have recently gained more success by adopting this strategy – using language typically used by human rights activists such as “gendercide” and “pre-born rights.”
The Bahraini opposition has already rebranded itself several times. The Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, which was responsible for the attempted coup d’état in the 1981, was quickly dissolved only to be reestablished as the Bahrain Center for Human Rights – an approach that would easily gain more support from foreign activists.
However, the opposition is now rebranding the entire movement, not one organization, an indicator that the movement has passed the stage of maturation and entered its decline.
The opposition should abandon their incessant attempts at provoking authorities into committing human rights abuses and show a genuine commitment to dialogue and reconciliation. That is the only effective way of facilitating substantial reforms in Bahrain as well as minimising the growing sectarian rift in our society.
Human rights abuses cannot be justified and if the authorities are successful at peacefully controlling the protests on August 14th, we can predict that we will soon see the end of the violent Bahraini uprising. Not entirely, but hopefully for the most part.
Disrupting the peace once again will only aggravate political and sectarian tensions in Bahrain and will further distance the opposition and the authorities from achieving their goals and enacting reforms.