Political Commentary: Democracy and the Middle East?

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05/09/05

By Justin D. Norris,
Senior Staff Writer

I know. The word ‘democracy’ and ‘Middle East seem like a paradox. The growing pressures of resistance by Islamist fundamentalist militants and the stagnation of the economic and political growth paint a grim picture for democracy. However, there is some hope and with the recent invasion of Iraq, things seem to be getting better.

The Middle East has often been seen as an unstable and volatile region, particularly when the stability of oil exports—and the West’s consequential dependence—was challenged in the early ‘70s. Aside of all this, oil has strengthened countries as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, particularly with money they have charged for other countries to extract oil. The government uses the money to give to its citizens to live off and so they do not have to pay taxes. Many see these oil-rich countries as a problem because the government controls people through this money. Other challenges to democratization have, of course, included the recent upsurge of Islamist fundamentalist militants who are attempting to upset the stability of government in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Libya. The absence of a private business class is a challenge as well because there is no institution with resources such as money to challenge the government’s authority. Iran has been of concern because it is a closed society often shutting out Western influence. Citizenship is rather disheartening only because political rights are given to a few. For example, men may be the only voting class in the Middle East. In Kuwait, citizenship is based upon land holding and noble birth which defies a democratic model of equal citizenship to all persons either born or naturalized in the country. Only 26% of Kuwait’s population are legal citizens of the country, meaning that nearly three of four people are excluded from participation in the country.

Among all these challenges, democracy seems to be under way. There is the opposition from certain groups of people in the West that countries like the United States is trying to insert values and traditions of their culture in another, which should be avoided or at least cautioned. They believe that we are essentially westernizing the Middle East. However, this not likely the case, especially since experience shows that democracies do not go to war with each other. Even more, democracies express the wishes of how people want to be governed. Recent polls show in Arab countries that people hope to have some democratic reform implemented in their government after being exhausted with the power and corruption wielding in these desert capitals. Saudi Arabia has been responding to the American and European pressure and held municipal elections this past February with nearly 73% of men voting-a higher participation rate than many Western countries. Kuwait too has held elections and has recently passed laws to open up voting eligibility to women. If democracy is not happening, modernity certainly is. Egypt has recently, with reference to its sacred Shari’a law, allow women to divorce their husbands without his consent-a big step for country that used to consider women, legally, as half a person.

Despite antipathy towards George W. Bush’s it seems that his recent efforts to democratize the region has proved fruitful. Saudi Arabia, if not listening to the States, has a greater goal in mind: its own self-preservation. Religious fundamentalists in the Gulf country has been expressing resentment and dissonance with the government and without reforming the government may not be able to handle the threat that they bring to the region. Nonetheless, there is sure sign the region is beginning to stabilize more than we perceive.

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