Reform from above: The politics of participation in the oil monarchies

International Affairs

Volumn 79, Issue 1, 2003, Pages

  Ehteshami, Anoushiravan ^a  

^a DURHAM UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0041929611     PISSN: 00205850     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/1468-2346.00295     Document Type: Review

References (59)

1. Robert W. Stookey, ed., The Arabian Peninsula: zone of ferment (Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1984), pp. xxx-xxxi.
2. Some of the wider implications of this line of thought are explored in Hassan Hakimian and Ziba Moshaver, eds, The state and global change: the political economy of transition in the Middle East and North Africa (London: Curzon Press, 2001).
3. Jamal Al-Suwaidi. 'Arab and Western conceptions of democracy: evidence from a UAE opinion survey', in David Garnham and Mark Tessler, eds, Democracy, war and peace in the Middle East (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995), pp. 82-115; Fred Halliday, 'The Gulf War and its aftermath: first reflections', International Affairs 67: 2, April 1991, pp. 223-34.
4. Jamal Al-Suwaidi. 'Arab and Western conceptions of democracy: evidence from a UAE opinion survey', in David Garnham and Mark Tessler, eds, Democracy, war and peace in the Middle East (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995), pp. 82-115; Fred Halliday, 'The Gulf War and its aftermath: first reflections', International Affairs 67: 2, April 1991, pp. 223-34.
5. For a concise discussion of the relevant issues see Graham Fuller, 'Respecting regional realities', Foreign Policy 83, Summer 1991, pp. 39-46.
6. Roger Hardy, Arabia after the storm: internal stability of the Gulf Arab states (London: RIIA. 1992), p. 14.
7. J. E. Peterson, 'The nature of succession in the Gulf', Middle East Journal 55: 4, Autumn 2001, pp. 580-601.
8. For reflections on the GCC legal framework, for instance, see Nathan J. Brown, The rule of law in the Arab world: courts in Egypt and the Gulf (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1997).
9. For an extremely helpful short guide to the democratization debate in the developing world, see Robert L. Rotherstein, 'Democracy in the Third World: definitional dilemmas', in Garnham and Tessler, eds, Democracy, War and peace in the Middle East, pp. 65-81.
10. For a typical argument see Fouad Al-Farsy, Modernity and tradition: the Saudi equation (London: Kegan Paul International, 1990).
11. For an interesting discussion of such factors see William Quandt, Saudi Arabia in the 1980s (Washington DC: Brookings Institution, 1981).
12. Quoted in Robin Allen and James Drummond, 'Emir's claims for democracy have yet to be tested', Financial Times Survey: Qatar, 7 Nov. 2001, p. II.
13. Set Azzam Tamimi, ed., Power-sharing in Islam (London: Liberty for the Muslim World Publications, 1993).
14. This is the title of Fred Halliday's famous book. Arabia without sultans (London: Pelican, 1979), first published in 1974.
15. Halliday, Arabia without sultans, p. 49.
16. Giacomo Luciani, 'Resources, revenues, and authoritarianism in the Arab world: beyond the rentier state?', in Rex Brynen, Bahgat Korany and Paul Noble, eds, Political liberalization and democralization in the Arab world: theoretical perspectives (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1995), p. 211.
17. Kiren Aziz Chaudhry, The price of wealth: economics and institutions in the Middle East (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997), p. 141.
18. Monte Palmer, Ibrahim Fahad Alghofaily and Saud Mohammed Alnimier, 'The behavioral correlates of rentier economies: 3 case study of Saudi Arabia', in Stookey, ed., The Arabian Peninsula, p. 20.
19. Hazem Beblawi, 'The rentier state in the Arab world', in Hazem Beblawi and Giacomo Luciani, eds, The rentier state (London: Croom Helm, 1987). p. 53.
20. Giacomo Luciani, 'The oil rent, the fiscal crisis of the state and democratization', in Ghassan Salame, ed., Democracy without democrats: the renewal of politics in the Muslim world (London: I. B. Tauris, 1994), p. 152.
21. Nazih N. Ayubi, Over-stating the Arab state: politics and society in the Middle East (London: I. B. Tauris, 1995).
22. John Bulloch, Reforms of the Saudi Arabian constitution (London: Gulf Centre for Strategic Studies, 1992).
23. Ghanim Alnajjar, 'The challenges facing Kuwaiti democracy', Middle East Journal 54: 2, Spring 2000, pp. 242-58.
24. The emir's decree would have enabled women to run for office, vote and be elected in the parliamentary and municipal elections scheduled for 2003. The decree has had a very mixed reception among the Islamist groups in Kuwait, most of which opposed the measure. See The Economist, 22-28 May 1999.
25. Emir Khalifa expanded the membership of the advisory council from 20 to 30 members in 1975 and to 35 in 1988. He also extended its term from two to four years. For a review of earlier Qatari and Bahraini attempts to introduce constitutional government, see Emile A. Nakhleh, 'Political participation and the constitutional experiments in the Arab Gulf: Bahrain and Qatar', in Tim Niblock. ed., Social and economic development in the Arab Gulf (London: Croom Helm, 1980), pp. 161-76.
26. 'Democracy in Doha', Gulf States Newsletter 24: 607, 22 March 1999, p. 3.
27. See Anoushiravan Ehteshami, 'Is the Middle East democratizing?', British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 26: 2, Nov. 1999, pp. 199-217.
28. See e.g. the emir's opening remarks at the Qatar Conference on Democracy and Free Trade, 26-27 March 2002.
29. Abdullah Juma Al-Haj, 'The politics of participation in the Gulf Cooperation Council states: the Omani consultative council', Middle East Journal 50: 4, Autumn 1996, pp. 559-71; Sultanate of Oman Majlis A'Shura Structure and Main Organs (1997-2000 AD) (Ruwi, Oman: Golden P. Press. 1999).
30. Abdullah Juma Al-Haj, 'The politics of participation in the Gulf Cooperation Council states: the Omani consultative council', Middle East Journal 50: 4, Autumn 1996, pp. 559-71; Sultanate of Oman Majlis A'Shura Structure and Main Organs (1997-2000 AD) (Ruwi, Oman: Golden P. Press. 1999).
31. Information supplied by Ahmed al-Mukhaini, Durham, Nov. 2001.
32. The Majlis al-Dawla already has five female members, and there are four women deputy ministers as well. In the 2000 Shura elections 30 per cent of the 175,000-strong electorate was attributed to female voters. Oman's ambassador to the Netherlands is also female.
33. 'Oman: elections carry forward a quiet experiment in Gulf democracy', Gulf States Newsletter 24: 645, 25 Sept. 2000, p. 7.
34. Quoted in Latheef Farook, 'Bahrain declared constitutional monarchy', Gulf News, 15 Feb. 2002. To reinforce the depth of the reforms, the emir (king) also announced the dates of the new elections in the new kingdom, bringing these forward to 9 May 2002 for municipal elections and 24 October 2002 for parliamentary elections (which had been scheduled for 2004). The May poll was the first such election to be held in Bahrain since 1957. The poll for the 40-seat parliament in October 2002 enjoyed a 53.2 per cent participation rate, with 177 candidates standing. Of this total 8 were women. That this was a genuinely popular poll is underlined by reports of one voter, the 70-year-old Fatima Abdul Aziz, explaining. 'I was asked by people to boycott [the elections], but 1 told them to get lost'. Arab News, 30 Oct. 2002.
35. Quoted in Latheef Farook, 'Bahrain declared constitutional monarchy', Gulf News, 15 Feb. 2002. To reinforce the depth of the reforms, the emir (king) also announced the dates of the new elections in the new kingdom, bringing these forward to 9 May 2002 for municipal elections and 24 October 2002 for parliamentary elections (which had been scheduled for 2004). The May poll was the first such election to be held in Bahrain since 1957. The poll for the 40-seat parliament in October 2002 enjoyed a 53.2 per cent participation rate, with 177 candidates standing. Of this total 8 were women. That this was a genuinely popular poll is underlined by reports of one voter, the 70-year-old Fatima Abdul Aziz, explaining. 'I was asked by people to boycott [the elections], but 1 told them to get lost'. Arab News, 30 Oct. 2002.
36. One elected lower chamber to tackle all legislative matters, and an appointed Shura council to fulfil a consultative role.
37. As already noted, the parliamentary elections were brought forward to 2002 by the emir (see note 32 above.)
38. According to the election monitoring committee, 217,579 individuals were given the vote, of whom 196,262 chose to participate in the ballot; 191,790 people supported the charter. www.ArabicNews.com (17 Feb. 2001).
39. Rahshe Aba Namay, 'Constitutional reform: a systemization of Saudi politics', Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 16: 3, 1993, pp. 43-88.
40. F. Gregory Cause III, 'The Gulf conundrum: economic change, population growth, and political stability in the GCC states', Washington Quarterly 20: I, Winter 1997.
41. Mamoun Fandy, Saudi Arabia and political dissent (London: Macmillan, 1999).
42. The proposals focused on the so-called 'three reforms', reform of the basic laws, the shura, and the regions: Nidham al-Asasi, Nidham al-Shura and Nidham al-Manatiq.
43. The 90-member Shura was inaugurated in July 1997. For an analysis of the social background of the Shura members and their role, see R. Hrair Dekmejian, 'Saudi Arabia's consultative council', Middle East Journal 52: 2, Spring 1998, pp. 204-18.
44. Faisal bin Misha'al al-Saud, 'Political development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: an assessment of the Majlis Ash-Shura', PhD thesis, University of Durham, 2000, p. 175.
45. Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Mihna, Sejel Amel Majlis Ash-shura wa Injazetah Khalal Dourateh Awali, 1414-1418 (Review of the activities of the Majlis al-Shura during its first term, 1993-1997) (Riyadh: Majlis al-Shura Printing Office, 2000).
46. Roula Khalaf, 'A wind of change must rise in Riyadh, says Prince Talal'. Financial Times, 30 Jan. 2002.
47. Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz, Reuters, 4 March 1998.
48. www.ArabicNews.com, 10 May 2001.
49. R. I. Lawless, ed., The Gulf in the early 20th century: foreign institutions and local responses (Durham: Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, 1986). p. 1.
50. Halliday, Arabia without sultans, pp. 521-2.
51. I had the pleasure of attending the mid-day majlis of Prince Salman (Governor of Riyadh) in Riyadh in Feb. 2001. This was a truly extraordinary experience, where one witnesses one of the most senior members of the al-Saud household personally receiving petitions from literally hundreds of people, young and old, Saudi national and foreign, who flock to his majlis. He receives every single person, sits and personally reads every petition handed to him, issues instructions, explores the more complex issues with the plaintiff, arranges for the petitions of women visitors (who wait elsewhere while their problem is being attended to) to be dealt with, and, well over an hour later, leaves to attend to affairs of state. On average, he does this twice a day!
52. Quoted in al-Saud, 'Political development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia', p. 146.
53. Gause, 'The Gulf conundrum'.
54. F. Gregory Gause III, Oil monarchies: domestic and security challenges in the Arab Gulf states (New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1994), p. 81.
55. Richard Augustus Norton, 'The future of civil society in the Middle East', Middle East Journal 47: 2, Spring 1993, p. 206.
56. Michaela Alexandra Prokop, 'Political economy of fiscal crisis in a rentier state: case study of Saudi Arabia', PhD thesis, University of Durham, 1999, p. 208.
57. In Saudi Arabia's case, for example, it is argued that the elite cannot introduce political reform and at the same time contain the Islamist forces which form one of the regime's key constituencies. Political reform, therefore, may actually expose the state and its institutions to Islamist takeover. See Edward Pilkington, 'Like Dallas policed by the Taliban', Guardian, G2 section, 2 July 2002, pp. 2-4.
58. It has even been suggested by some influential voices in the United States that in the aftermath of 11 September Washington should be pressing its Arab allies to introduce wide-ranging democratic reforms. See e.g. Martin Indyk, 'Back to the bazaar'. Foreign Affairs 81: 1, Jan.-Feb. 2002, pp. 75-88.
59. Gerd Nonneman, Governance, human rights, and the case for political adaptation in the Gulf: issues in the EU-GCC political dialogue, policy paper 3 (Badia Fiesolana: European University Institute, 2001). p. 5.