Kuwaits democratic development - Research Paper Example

Kuwait’s democratic development since its independence Democracy in governance is a system that incorporates the representation of the populations through candidates elected by majority of the eligible members in that society. Democracy allows for practice of civil liberties and freedoms by the members of the society. Various nations in the course to transition to democracy present various complex politics in which they test various propositions of the political developments, which create the basis for other forms of development such as the economy and social securities. From the perspectives, the ratification of the constitution to further the course of democratic development continues to influence the course of development1. For instance, considering the case of the democratic development of Kuwait, the regimes of the country presented as an outlier of the Arab Gulf states, faced significant resistances in implementing the processes of democratization2. The substances and trajectories of change in politics present such unevenness that the rule of democracy, with an all-inclusive constitution, continue to evade the state. The process of democratization of Kuwait, leading to acceptance of the rule of the constitution among others, took additional pressure from the members of the coalition, as well as, from the international community after the liberation of Kuwait3. This dissertation assesses the adoption of the democratization process in Kuwait’s democratic development and the success of the process in reaching its optimum point since independence. The recent revolutions in the oil-rich Arabian Gulf region continue to present the leading role in the argument of the dying ‘Arab Exceptionalism’ within the hands of the mass revolutionary movements4. The question of consideration in this course is the present basis of the revolutions, which the masses cite as inspiration towards the ideals of liberty freedom and human rights. Thus, there is relatively nothing ‘exceptional’ about the states, as their interest in democratic development remains key. The international communities, particularly the United States remain under watch for their involvement and participation in the democratization process of the Gulf States. For instance, the interest of the United States took a different approach in the norms and values for spreading democracy after the 9/11 attack5. Thus, in the process of spreading democratic values, the aspects of their interest in the country of engagement are a primary driving factor for the engagements. Kuwait alongside the other Gulf States faced relative aspects of the processes of democratization as the United States sought to establish peace and democratic rule, which considers all ideals of humanity in the development6. Conventional findings indicate that Islam and ideals of tribalism shape the Arab Middle East developments against democratization. However, in view of the various aspects of the practices and happenings in the course of seeking democratization since the independence of the states is reflective of the patterns of political development of the states that established democracy initially in Western Europe. The paradigm of Kuwait, a city-state that continues to enjoy a high level of collective wealth and resource as attributes of the liberalization process7. As the totalitarian movements encompassed Eastern Europe, Kuwait also engaged in its pro-democracy movements. In the pursuit to restore civil liberties and the rule of democracy, demonstrations challenging legitimacy of the governments in power faced significant levels of state oppression. In developing the context of democracy, the essential approaches for consideration with relation to the democratic development include the procession of development of civil life from the kin-based origins or the contractual and interest-based styles of leadership8. The associations of the ancient worlds are much similar to those of today. In the pursuit of liberation and establishment of civil life, the aspects of cultural origin structure the continuity of rule within the political systems. The rule on interest-based conceptions entails the selection of a leader based on his interest for the subjects9. However, the political ideals of the absolute monarchies relied on origin-base aspects for consideration in ruling. However, this affected the context of liberties and civil lives of the people. Hence, it necessitated the aspects of transformation from these rigid disciplinarian forms of governance. Historically, Kuwait prides in its early founding, in the 1750s as a state ruled by an Amir, who is equivalent of a king10. The Amir at this time came through a consensus of the selection after committing voluntarily to share the responsibilities with the other community leaders. The reign of the Amir in Kuwait is minimal in relation to royal tendencies until the rule of Abdullah II from 1866-189211. However, with the advent of invasions from neighboring countries, the state adopted Turkish terms in exchange for military protection and financial payments. Rue ensued as the successors of the Amir seat began conflicting in pursuit for power. Until the relinquishing of the mounting invasion in Kuwait by Iraq, the state faced several challenges as each of the succeeding rulers sought to establish their interest while the opponents engaged wars against the ruling authorities. The factors of the case continued with the establishment that the state was rich in resources and wealth at disposal of the people. The new oil-based prosperity created the outcome years of the struggles even in the advent of independence of the state. The independence entailed the factors of constitutional establishments to govern the rule of the city-state in the context of liberties and regulations. The constitution initially presented a means for regulation of the participations and engagements in merchants and other increasingly growing political groups. In view of the impact of the constitution on the economic establishments of the elite of Kuwait, the constitution guaranteed the merchant wealth and substantial revenues in the oil industry. However, in the course of the developments in the political arena as concerns democratic rule, the constitution was a relatively thin shield against the state power. The state power remained above the constitution as they could easily apply brutal force as well as money to control and manipulate the populations. For instance, in the wake of 1976 the Amir suspended the constitution and parliament until in 1981 when they came under effect again12. However, his successor again suspended the two most significant elements of driving the democratic development in 1986. The rationale for these suspensions bordered on the criticisms of democratic excess demands and security concerns. The constitution provided the legal basis for constricting and opposed the use of force and money to manipulate the populations. Hence, this was the course for suspension of the constitution and parliaments. In view of the suspended elements of democracy, that is the constitution and National Assembly, the regime under rule came under increased pressure to restore the liberties and political rights of the people. In both cases of the suspension, it is notable that the protestations and pressures that ensued forced the regimes to restore the suspended elements. For instance, in the period 1989-1990 created the social groups, which sought and engaged the government in protesting against one or another form of unlawful exercise as projected by the ruler. The Kuwait liberation and insistence to the establishment of the civil order, the ruling regime maintained the governance of the draconian measures of the martial law until 1991 when the government acceded to the demands of the protestations13. The protests continue in the course of the developments in which the civil population sought to oust the Amir from power, leading to the eventual calling of the elections in 199214. The autonomy of the Kuwait urban social groups results from the primary identity of the country as a city-state. Despite the growth of the strong acquisition of external resources in supporting the development of the democratic establishments, the country still faces weaknesses towards negating the effects of extensive and regular interactions among the Kuwaitis. The authoritarian governments forced the opposition to mobilize the public and civil rights activists against the ruling family15. The repeated interactions in the protest and push for democratic establishments saw the modification of behavior and positions of nearly all players in the politics of Kuwait. Citizen activism ended the special relation with Britain in 1961, making a peaceful transition towards achieving a representative government and rule of law. The development marked the beginning of the independence period in the city-state. The civil society of Kuwait entailed the complex values and practices in operating between the family and the state16. The factor formed an ambiguous frontier in the context of the clandestine and communal life of the cradle of political dissent and participants in the democratic institutions. The civil community of Kuwait constitutes the leading role in the democratic development of the state17. The various leaderships sought to establish and ascertain the resources of the country for their private engagements. For instance, the leaders reserved a huge chunk of the oil revenues for themselves and their families. The ruling elite further hindered democratic development by dispensing money of the state to their family members. Additionally, the land acquisition programs also went under manipulation by the government, buying land from citizens and distributing it to merchant allies and family members. The inequalities worsened driving the simulation of the claims of desire to accrue benefits from the recourse for the entire population. The government in its retaliation as t sought to hide its monstrous activities; it incorporated and established several programs for the success of the community. The government established structures in which they provided allowances for the government employees and subsidies for the various families by providing basic food supplements, housing, and utilities such as telephone services among others. Additionally, the government also engaged the inclusion of free health care and public education to the populations. The government further demanded that both boys and girls attend school18. These are features of the democratic progress of the Kuwait society with respect to the political democratization. Democracy allowed for the establishment of these essential factors of development and growth in the economy, politics, and social aspects of the community. The result of the social policies as instituted by the democratic government opened political spaces from the confines of the constitution. The establishment of profound democratization in Kuwait life began. The process facilitated the development of the country in the various services of higher incomes, better health, rising travel, as well as better levels of education. The populations grew from the previous levels into the stature of middle-class populations as exists in the developed countries. Their aspirations founded on the scores of professional and voluntary associations monopolized the broad representation of the people. Progress marked the democratic progress for the success of the government. In addition, as the democratic establishment of Kuwait followed, the progress of the people ensued in various political aspects of inequalities infringe the development of the state. The political elite began incorporating the negative factors of the inequalities propagated from the beliefs of inferiority and superiority complex along the basis of religion and culture. These tribal elements entered the constitutional aspects of politics exploitation, making an allegiance to the confines of the state translating into the open question for lingering inequality. The religious and tribal views over the participation of women in leadership matters saw the banning of participation of women as voters or leaders19. The ban violated the deals of democracy projected through the civil liberties of equity among the constituents of the city-state of Kuwait. This additionally led to the institution of the feminist movements in the state that fought to establish the spirited resistance against the parliamentary majorities. The proponents of the developments banning the action of the women in participating in a leadership role took a deeper basis in the wake of the Iraqi invasion in Kuwait20. The Iraqi occupation proved the arguments against women, as they could not participate accordingly in the war for liberation and security of the city-state. Thus, these inadequacies constituted the burden for the protest by women rights movements. The shaky justification of their ability to run in the context of being political actors caused the civil liberties of women remain a dream. The Amir decreed a ratification that required recognition of women and giving them political rights. However, the decree had to undergo the ratification of the parliament; hence, in 1999, the parliament declined to ascend the decree21. The women activists continued their call, with several women forming the activist groups stand mobilizing their response accordingly. The breakthrough for democratic progress followed in 2005 when the municipal elections allowed the women to vote and run for political offices in the municipality. Previously, in the years between 2000 and 2005, various women managed to achieve representation n heading leaving institutions such as national professional association. Rola Dashti became the elementary woman to head a mixed gender organization in Kuwait in 2004. The protests into the inclusion of women into political and social liberties continued with massive protests ensuing in 200622. The continued protests eventually saw the aspiring candidates planning for 2010 elections despite the prohibition of women to run for an office. These establishments affect the development of democracy in the context of Kuwait city-state. The context of women participation remains the leading brawl in the democratic development of the state. Fair judgment and interpretations of the various political institutions including the parliament and government face the mounting pressure to adopt women into activities of politics accordingly. In the pursuit of democratic representation of all entities in the civil liberties as contained in the international community confines, the United States of America alongside other nations continue to employ trajectory involvement in the events of Kuwait23. The procedures of promoting democracy and development became the leading foreign policy after the Cold World War. Democracy and development remain the driving forces of the ‘new world order.’ The initial opportunity for engaging in Kuwait was the call to liberate Kuwait from the invasion by the Iraqi forces24. In heading to the city-state, the United States, in addition to its desire to help liberate the state, also carried with it various interest in the Kuwait. The interest depicts the various international associations that seek to establish relations with Kuwait for her immense wealth and natural resources25. The United States in addition wanted to establish a security base in the state to monitor the developments and activities of the other countries in the Middle East in pursuit to establish world peace. The participation of the United States comes in various perspectives. For instance, it provided Kuwait with political and military support. Additionally, in fostering development, America brings aspects of private associations in trading with the city-sate. Thus, from these aspects of engagement of Kuwait with the USA continued to foster the push towards further democratization and freedoms of the city-state. The oil concerns; however, hinder the acceptance of support as the Arab country engages the interest of the United States and the British in supporting Kuwait26. The development also raises concerns over the authoritarian aspects of the United States in progressing democratic development in the countries it engages. Nonetheless, in view of its support over Kuwait in the democratic development, America continues to cooperate with other international community participants in projecting Kuwait towards full democratization. In conclusion, the development of Kuwait towards democracy has a rich history of turbulent times. The aspect of the government structure of the city-state constitutes vastly in the limitation towards achieving complete democratic establishments27. Politics and individual interest in the recourses of the oil-rich country continue to increment the gap towards the development of the city-state into adopting democracy in all its constitutions. Further, the factors of religious beliefs and culture also limit the establishment and achievement of democratic development of Kuwait. These factors result in the retarding growth of Kuwait towards the establishment of democratic development. Bibliography Tetreault, Mary Ann. “Patterns of Culture and Democratization in Kuwait.” Studies in Comparative International Development, Summer (1995): Vol. 30, No. 2, 26-45 Al-Dekhayel, Abdulkarim. “Kuwait Oil, State and Political Legitimation.” Ithaca Press UK, (2000) Muhammad, Azam and Sagheer, Ahmad Khan. “American Democracy Promotion in the Arabian Gulf.” Alternatives Turkish Journal of International Relations. (2012): Vol. 11, No. 1, www.alternativesjournal.net Darwish, Adel. “Current Affairs/KUWAIT: Slow but steady on the long road to democracy.” The Middle East, IC Publications Ltd. January (2013) Tetreault, Mary Ann. “Stories of Democracy, Politics and Society: The Contemporary Kuwait.” Colombia University Press, New York. (2000) Tetreault, M Ann, Okruhlik Gwenn and Kapiszewski, Andrzej. “Political Change in the Arab Gulf States Stuck in Transition.” Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder, Colorado (2011) Yetiv, Steve. “Kuwait’s Democratic Experiment in Its Broader International Context.” The Middle East Journal, Volume. 56, No. 2 (spring 2002), pp 257-271 Read More