How Elites Use Postcolonial Rhetoric to Defend the Status Quo

Colonialism left real scars, but it shouldn't be used as a convenient excuse for modern-day abuses.

"Bahrain blood" by jassim madan is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In early April, the National Interest featured a piece titled “How Bahrain Is Improving its Human Rights Record,” by Sam Zakhem, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the country from 1986 to 1989 and is today the President of Zakhem International, LLC.

The op-ed is basically what you’d expect fr…