Liberalizing Autocracies in the Gulf Region? Reform Strategies in the Face of a Cultural-Economic Syndrome

From an international comparative perspective, the stability of autocratic regimes in the countries of the Gulf region is striking. This paper presents historical–cultural as well as economic explanations and proposes that the interaction of both factors constitutes a cultural-economic syndrome acco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:World development 2008-12, Vol.36 (12), p.2586-2604
Main Author: Weiffen, Brigitte
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism (Political Ideology)
Autocracy
Cultural factors
Economic Factors
Economic reform
economic restructuring
Governmental reform
Gulf States
Gulf States Islam rentierism authoritarianism liberalization economic restructuring
International comparisons
Islam
Islamic culture
Liberalization
Middle East
Monarchy
Political Change
Political Development
Political regimes
Regional analysis
Reinforcement
rentierism
Studies
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Summary:From an international comparative perspective, the stability of autocratic regimes in the countries of the Gulf region is striking. This paper presents historical–cultural as well as economic explanations and proposes that the interaction of both factors constitutes a cultural-economic syndrome accounting for the persistence of authoritarianism. Macro-quantitative analyses demonstrate the significant influence of this syndrome, which operates through a mechanism of mutual reinforcement and substitution. Departing from this diagnosis, potential remedies are discussed: political and economic reform measures pursued in the 1990s are explored, and the Gulf monarchies are classified according to four ideal-typical combinations of reform strategies.
ISSN:0305-750X
1873-5991
DOI:10.1016/j.worlddev.2008.01.009