Relationship dossier
Turkey
Bahrain
Relationship assessment
Practical cooperation alongside regional-policy friction
Turkey toward Bahrain
+15Turkey has engaged Bahrain through high-level visits and defense-related bilateral arrangements. During the 2017 Gulf crisis, Turkey supported Qatar, a policy at odds with Bahrain's position.
Bahrain toward Turkey
+15Bahrain has engaged Turkey through high-level bilateral contacts and defense-related arrangements. Bahrain's participation in the 2017 measures against Qatar diverged from Turkey's support for Qatar.
Overall relationship
+15The relationship combines practical bilateral engagement, including defense-related arrangements and high-level contacts, with a significant divergence over Qatar during the 2017 Gulf crisis. The available details do not establish the arrangements' scope or implementation.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Turkey and Bahrain have pursued practical bilateral cooperation, including defense-related arrangements and high-level visits. Relations also faced strain during the 2017 Gulf diplomatic crisis, when Turkey supported Qatar while Bahrain joined the states that severed ties with it. Cooperation has continued, but its scope and implementation are not sufficiently clear for a stronger assessment.
Areas of tension
- Different positions during the 2017 Gulf diplomatic crisis over Qatar.
Key developments
Turkey and Bahrain pursued defense-related bilateral arrangements.
Turkey supported Qatar during the Gulf diplomatic crisis, while Bahrain joined the states that severed ties with Qatar.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of Turkey–Bahrain defense and other bilateral arrangements are unclear.
- The extent to which the 2017 Gulf crisis affected bilateral cooperation is uncertain.