Kuwait is, along with Qatar, the only country in the Arabian Peninsula where elections are
held. Yep, you heard that right...
Many of you might know this country because of their oil reserves, their wealth, or the
fact that they were invaded by SADDAM HUSSEIN in the 90s. But Kuwait is much more than that.
It is one of the most tolerant nations in the Islamic world. Women can vote, run for
office, and they even have a female MP. But not only that, for decades, the Kuwaiti
Royal House has been America’s best friend in the Gulf. This is why, when they were invaded
in 1990, Uncle Sam didn’t hesitate for a moment, and sent their troops in immediately.
And now you might wonder: why are we talking today about Kuwait? Well, this is the only
Arab country, alongside with Oman, that hasn’t joined the diplomatic block of Qatar.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates broke off relations with Qatar in
the worst diplomatic crisis to hit Gulf Arab states in decades. The three Gulf countries
and Egypt accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.]
And now the question is why is Kuwait not on this list of nations who have cut ties
with Qatar? What kind of interest does this country have in this diplomatic crisis? How
does their political system work? Well, today, we are going to answer these questions. But
before we do, let’s get to know more about this particular part of the planet.
WHO IS WHO IN THE PERSIAN GULF?
The first country we need to know about in the Arabian Peninsula is Saudi Arabia. Saudi
Arabia is the biggest country in the region, both in terms of population and territory.
But it is not the only one... Here we have the United Arab Emirates, which Dubai and
Abu Dhabi are part of. This country has its own government, its own laws, and its own
currency. Is absolutely independent from the Saudis.
The same goes for Qatar, which has its own foreign policy and holds better relations
with public enemies of the Saudis like the Islamic Republic of IRAN. And now you might
be thinking that all of this countries have one important thing in common... the fact
that they are incredibly oil-rich, right?
Well… actually that’s pretty wrong. Here we have the Republic of Yemen: a country that
is extremely poor. Now, of course, all of this countries have a common history, traditions
and religion. But make no mistake, each of them have their own peculiarities.
For example, the United Arab Emirates was the first country who realized oil is not
forever and therefore, they decided to diversify their economy. Today, crude represents just
3% of the total economy of Dubai.
Kuwait is also a totally different animal. Yes, they have a monarchy, the so-called EMIR,
but he is controlled by a constitution and a parliament. But hold on just a second, because
this doesn't mean they are a 100% democratic country. In fact, their system is way more
complicated than that. So, let’s have a look at it.
HOW DOES SEMI-DEMOCRACY WORK IN KUWAIT?
So, Kuwait is known as a “semi-democracy.” Unlike Saudi Arabia, Kuwait has freedom of
religion. This is why you can find even a Catholic church in the middle of Kuwait city.
Things like the HIJAB are not mandatory, and even the laws regarding alcohol are fairly
liberal in comparison with it’s neighbours. Of course, it’s still forbidden to buy it
or sell it. But it’s legal to drink in private.
Nonetheless, the main peculiarity about Kuwait are their elections. All the adult, natural-born
citizens have the right to vote for their parliament every four years. This includes
women. In this elections, political parties are forbidden. But this doesn't mean candidates
have no ideology at all. They can also campaign freely and have debates.
Needless to say, the political debate here is totally different compared to that in the
UK or US, for example. Here, the political spectrum is not only a right-wing / left-wing
kind of thing. Of course, some candidates are highly conservative and others are more
liberal and open to Western culture, but this not the only thing that divides the Kuwaiti
society.
There is also a never-ending fight between Sunni muslims and Shia ones. This is because,
as I said before, there is freedom of religion, and that means the creed of the candidate
is as important as his tax plan. But not only that, there is another big divide between
the so-called urban voters and the tribal ones. Just think about it, this is a country
with a long nomadic tradition, with half of the population still living in tribes. And
these tribes hold their own primaries to choose their candidates.
This said, elections are used to choose a national assembly with the power to make laws
and even put a veto on the policies taken by the executive branch.
And now you might be wondering… How do they choose their Prime Minister? Are they voted
for by the MPs as they do in European countries? Or do they hold presidential elections like
they do in USA? Well, it’s actually nothing like either of those… As I said, Kuwait
is a semi-democracy. This means the Head of the State is the EMIR and he chooses the prime
minister and his cabinet.
Does it sound sort of like those European absolute monarchies that you studied at the
history lessons? Well, it’s not exactly like that... In fact, in Arab Monarchies,
the position of the Emir is not inherited. This is why in Saudi Arabia they have big
internal battles to choose their leaders. And, as I explained in a previous video, Royal
Families in this part of the planet can have thousands of members.
So in the case of Kuwait, the members of their Royal family, the so-called, AL-SABAH house
can vote for the Emir. But right after, the national assembly has to vote on whether they
accept this decision or not.
But wait just a minute because just incase the system were not complicated enough, here
is another extra fact: the Constitution allows the Emir to dissolve the parliament anytime
he wants. And, well, that’s something he does pretty often…
Emir of Kuwait dissolves parliament The move, announced on state media after an
emergency government meeting, sets the stage for early elections.
And, believe me, parliamentary debates in Kuwait are far from being quiet. Emergency
meetings are a common thing and sometimes its really hard to get to any kind of consensus.
For some analysts, this is one of the reasons that explains this...
A CRUDE-A-HOLIC ECONOMY
We all know it: oil-rich countries have so much money they can spend it as if there was
no tomorrow. Most natural-born Kuwaiti citizens work as civil servants for the government.
They pay no income tax, their energy bills are subsidized, and their salaries are ludicrously
high.
The ones who work on the oil rigs are the foreigners. But this is not only a reality
for Kuwait. It happens all over the region. Black gold has allowed all of these countries
to have this way of life.
But what happens now? As you know, the market price for crude oil has fallen in recent years.
Of course, these oil-monarchies are still making profits, but not enough to keep that
system going. And this is why today, all of these countries have fiscal deficits. This
means their spending is way higher than their income.
Pay attention to the chart here! Even in USA, where they are really worried about their
high deficit, is doing better than this countries. And now you might wonder... What does this
figure actually mean? Well… this means that if the Kuwaitis don’t want to go bankrupt
in a few years, they’d better find other alternative incomes and not rely entirely
on oil.
Nonetheless, despite Kuwait having the most modern and democratic political system, they
have the highest dependence on crude oil. Even Saudi Arabia, regressive as they are,
is better prepared for a price in the price of oil. And this is a surprise for everybody
because, during the 1970s, Kuwait was the rock star of the region. Now, this title goes
to Dubai, despite it being an absolute monarchy. And this has left many Arabs wondering whether
democracy is compatible with economic reform. Kuwait has stagnated, frustrating the people
of a country once seen as a Middle East trailblazer.
Let’s say you want to start a logistics company in Dubai. You just need to buy some
land and build the facilities, right? Well, in Kuwait, this is almost impossible. The
government owns 90% of the territory. On the other hand, bureaucracy has reached insane
levels. According to the World Bank, it´s easier to start a business in countries like
Ukraine or El Salvador than it is in Kuwait. And all of this, despite the fact that Kuwait
has a lower corporate tax than Luxembourg. Added to this are the sky-high salaries of
civil workers, which rise year after year, and you can probably imagine that no one is
going to become an entrepreneur and leave behind the comfort and the safety of a government
job. But now, all of a sudden, the Qatari crisis
has offered Kuwait a chance to emerge as a regional leader. Their royal house has good
relationships with all the countries involved: including United States, Saudi Arabia and
Qatar. Plus, their political system is the most open and democratic in the region. In
other words, they have the best chance of becoming a mediator in this crisis. And they
are well aware of it. Kuwaiti Emir to travel to Saudi for Qatar
talks
So now the question is… Do you think Kuwait can take back its role as a regional leader?
Can this crisis help them to showcase their country for foreign investment? Let us know
what you think in the comments below.
Meanwhile, things are far from quiet in Saudi Arabia. Their Royal House is having an internal
war to determine who is going be the successor of the Prince. Click here to know more about
this story.
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