Political Reforms and the Process of Democratisation in Kuwait 1992-2013
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Durham E-Theses Political Reforms and the Process of Democratisation in Kuwait 1992-2013 ALMAZKURI, FATEMAH,A,H,A How to cite: ALMAZKURI, FATEMAH,A,H,A (2017) Political Reforms and the Process of Democratisation in Kuwait 1992-2013, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12242/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Political Reforms and the Process of Democratisation in Kuwait 1992-2013 Fatemah Ali Hassan Ali Al mazkuri A Thesis Submitted For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University 2017 i The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. ii Abstract The study examined the four major political reforms undertaken in Kuwait post- liberation: the restoration of the National Assembly in 1992, the separation of posts of the Crown Prince from the post of the Prime Minister in 2003, women’s suffrage in 2005 and the redefining of the electoral districts in 2006. These were analysed to establish whether these political reforms represented a process of democratisation or political liberalisation that ultimately consolidated the power of liberalised autocracy and was merely a regime survival strategy. To do that the study employed a theoretical framework that considers Robert Dahl’s (1971) criteria: political participation, contestation and expansion of civil and political rights to assess whether Kuwait’s political system is democratic or not, in conjunction with David Potter’s scheme (1997) of the six pre-requisites that can promote and/or inhibit the process of democratisation: relation of state and political institutions, societal divisions, economic development, civil society, political culture and transnational/international engagement in order to identify the drivers and/or the obstacles to a democratic transition. This analysis contributes to the wider discussions on democratisation processes, furthering the understanding of the necessary conditions for democratisation, as well as what the nature of the obstacles to reform are in the Gulf region. The study concluded that the political reforms were not evidence of democratisation; rather they were part of Al Sabah’s own survival strategy and are better understood in terms of a liberalising autocracy. Nonetheless, they brought to the surface the contradictions inherent in the political structures and processes and allowed a space for civil society movements to emerge, mobilise and attempt to counter the dominance of the state as well as coming forth as another significant factor (the first being the National Assembly) pushing for democratisation. This apparent increase in civil society activism gives hope that change is possible. iii Table of Contents List of Tables......................................................................................................... vii List of Charts ........................................................................................................ viii List of Abbreviations.............................................................................................. ix Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. x Dedication .............................................................................................................. xi Chapter One: Introduction....................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Problem ........................................................................................ 1 1.2 Research Questions ..................................................................................... 3 1.3 Research Methodology ................................................................................ 3 1.4 Main Argument ........................................................................................... 8 1.5 Chapter Outline ......................................................................................... 11 Chapter Two: Literature Review and the Theoretical Framework of the Study ... 14 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 14 2.2 Defining Democracy ................................................................................. 15 2.3 Western Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Democratisation .......... 20 2.3.1 The Modernisation Approach ............................................................. 21 2.3.2 The Structural Approach ..................................................................... 23 2.3.3 The Transitional Approach ................................................................. 24 2.3.4 Potter’s Theoretical Synthesis ............................................................ 26 2.4 Regional Approaches to the Study of the Absence of Democracy in the Middle East ........................................................................................................ 33 2.4.1 The Cultural Approach ....................................................................... 35 2.4.2 The Structural Approach ..................................................................... 40 2.4.3 Civil Society Approach ....................................................................... 43 2.4.4 Liberalised Autocracy ......................................................................... 47 2.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 53 Chapter Three: An Overview of Al Sabah Rule and State-Society Relations Prior to 1990 ................................................................................................................... 56 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 56 3.2 The Concentration of Power in the Hands of Al Sabah Family ................ 57 3.2.1 Tradition, Patriarchy and Segmented Identities .................................. 57 3.2.2 Oil Wealth and the Consolidation of the Power of Al Sabah ............. 62 iv 3.3 The Evolution of the Structures of Political Participation......................... 70 3.3.1 The Pre-Independence Forms of Political Participation ..................... 71 3.3.2 The Post-Independence Parliamentary Form of Participation ............ 76 3.4 The Successive National Assemblies 1963-1990 ...................................... 79 3.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 98 Chapter Four: The Political Reforms of Post-Liberation Kuwait and Process of Democratisation 1992-2003 ................................................................................ 103 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 103 4.2 The Challenges Facing Kuwait on the Eve of Liberation ....................... 104 4.2.1 The Restoration of the Legitimacy of Al Sabah Rule ....................... 106 4.2.2 International Western Pressure for Democratisation ........................ 108 4.3 The First Political Reform: The Restoration of the National Assembly . 110 4.4 The Successive National Assemblies 1992-2003 .................................... 113 4.4.1 The Seventh National Assembly 1992-1995 .................................... 114 4.4.2 The Eighth National Assembly 1996-1999 ...................................... 116 4.4.3 The Ninth National Assembly 1999-2003 ........................................ 119 4.4.4 The Tenth National Assembly 2003-2006 ........................................ 125 4.5 The Second Political Reform: Separation of the Posts of Crown Prince and Prime Minister ................................................................................................. 128 4.6 Evaluation of the Institutional Relation of the State and National Assembly ......................................................................................................................... 132 4.6.1 The Consolidation of Segmented Identities and Cleavages.............. 132 4.6.2 The Continued Dominance of Al Sabah ........................................... 135 4.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 139 Chapter Five: The Reforms of the Electoral System and State-Society relation 2005-2006 ........................................................................................................... 141 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 142 5.2 Overview of the State and Kuwait’s Civil Society Organisations .......... 143