Abu Dhabi: Political reform in the Gulf region is lagging behind socio-economic developments because the ruling elites are more open to modest liberalisation than to democratisation and people prefer stability to democracy, strategists and academics told a conference on Monday.
"Movement towards greater liberalism and greater democracy has been very limited because the ruling elites in the GCC countries have been more open to modest liberalisation than to democratisation," said Dr Michael Hudson, professor of International Relations at the Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, US. The theme of the conference is The Arabian Gulf: Between Conservatism and Change.
Global stage
Hudson suggested that public opinion and mass politics seem to play a relatively minor role in the Gulf states, while the ruling families and elites, particularly the younger generation, have the ability to initiate substantial reforms if they chose to do so
"Globalisation and oil have driven the GCC region onto the global stage, but its political systems have not changed accordingly. Gulf societies would not like to see the implementation of reforms such as those applied in other, larger Arab countries because they have often failed."
Dr Khalid Al Dakhil, assistant professor of political sociology at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia, said the idea of reform in the Gulf is still ruled with slogans and scattered achievements.
"However, Abdul Rahman Al Attiya, secretary-general of the GCC, sees that the Gulf states have a programme for gradual reform.
Meanwhile, a feasibility study on nuclear energy in the Gulf is to be submitted to the Muscat Summit in December, a top official said on Monday.
