End of time for Kings and Tyrants – Monarchies of the Arab World in time of Revolution

Monarchies of the Arab World in time of Revolution
By Shafeeq Ghabra – Professor of Political Science at Kuwait University – Morocco News

ARAB TIMES

The Arab rebellions which began in December 2012 pressured the monarchies to offer reforms and changes. Although the monarchies have more legitimacy than the long-time rulers of the Arab republics had. But the populations they rule have lived with some of the same lack of political expression, freedoms, and accountability as Arabs under other systems of government. Movements in Jordan and Morocco are trying to gain traction, which is why it is important for the monarchies to present the people with road maps for reform. Moroccan King Mohammed VI has been the most forthcoming in constitutional and political reforms among all the region’s monarchs and has in the short term been able to absorb the energy of the street. This has helped Morocco avoid major instability while also electing a prime minister and a government based on competition between various political parties.

In Jordan King Abdullah II has formed four governments since the Arab spring. Reforms have been limited, however, and challenges from the street movement have gained strength. In May 2012, the resignation of Awn Khasawneh, a reform-oriented prime minister, contributed to the fragmentation of the regime’s political base. Khasawneh had objected to the limitations on his reforms coming from the security apparatus and from the king’s inner circle.
Issues such as unemployment, corruption, democratization, the voting system, and social justice, along with the power of the monarch versus the power of the parliament, stand at the core of the present movement in Jordan. Jordan currently sits at the crossroad of a total system collapse or far-reaching reforms that could lead to a constitutional monarchy. Attempts to avoid major reforms will only exacerbate the situation, plus Jordan’s stability could be shaken once the Syrian rebellion concludes.

In the Gulf, Bahrainis filled the streets to protest discrimination, centralization of power, marginalization of the Shia majority, and policies of politicized naturalization directed against the Shia majority. They also expressed their dissatisfaction with having had the same prime minister for forty years. Bahrainis had agreed through a national document in 2001 with King Hamad Al-Khalifa to turn Bahrain into a constitutional monarchy but it never came to fruition. Bahrainis rebelled in February 2011 but where suppressed and the GCC intervened militarily for the first time ever to support the Bahraini government.
The situation in Bahrain is currently in an uneasy state of paralysis and tension between the people and the regime. Only through reform, rotation of power, and a popularly elected government and prime minister can Bahrain regain true peace. The militarization of the conflict, with some activists taking up arms, is not a remote possibility if the existing stalemate continues. …more